A Copy Cat's Child
by ArtsandHearts
Summary: She is Kakashi's biological daughter. But who is her mother? How will she deal with people who she hates, the stress of being a Genin, her crush on Inuzuka Kiba, and managing to stay at the top of her game while also coming up with lame excuses for being late? Kiba x OC. Rated T for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Unison Sign

Iruka-sensei lead us to a white oval outside.

"The important part to a friendly spar is the unison sign. Saya and Kiba, I want you two to demonstrate." I smirked.

Kiba was no where near my level.

I was better, and that's a fact.

"Hatake Saya, you cocky little runt! I'll crush you!" Kiba exploded. Suppressing a blush at how cute he was, I calmly walked into the oval. Snickering, we made the sign. Turning away and walking a few steps, then we both spun around and began attacking. I laughed at how he kept missing, but in my mind I kept stuttering how he's improved.

I must be two-faced.

Dodging another failed punch, I skipped to him quickly and kicked him in the stomach, effectively pushing him out of the oval. I bowed in respect, and he grimaced. We made the unison sign, and he pouted and went back to his friends.

"Great job, Saya, Kiba. You've both improved."

Making a cocky smirk, I gave the aura that I believed to be better than anyone else here, including Uchiha Sasuke.

He's no prodigy when compared to me.

Sighing, I padded home. My father, Kakashi, was not home.

He was out on another mission.

I walked into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror.

'Still not good enough.' the thought aggravated me. I grabbed a kunai and mercilessly cut my silky silver hair short, just barely reaching the middle of my neck. I slowly evened my hair out, not wanting to look disheveled. My dark onyx eyes flicked back to myself.

'Kiba would never like someone so arrogant. Actually, I am just afraid of being weak compared to everyone else. I don't want someone to make sexist remarks on how girls are weaker than guys... But I wouldn't mind being weaker than Kiba.'

Fantasies about me being the damsel in distress and Kiba being the hero flooded my mind. I sighed and leaned onto the counter.

He'd never protect me.

Not to mention I don't even need protecting.

The sun set over the horizon, making me realize how long I was stuck in my reverie. I grinned like the child I really was, and put on my sleeping clothes, complete with an adorable wolf hat.

It reminded me I'm not weak, even when sleeping.

Crawling into bed, I closed my eyes and let dreams I didn't dare speak of flood my mind, all of them centered around Kiba.

AN: Hello people who are reading this story cuz of Kiba, or people who are reading this story cuz I'm on your alerts. I am actually planning this book. I've got up to chapter ten.

Ok ok I know, so many Kakashi's daughter fics. But Saya's mom will actually appear. I'll plan that arc when my friend finishes designing her. X) I love you Anya (Lav)!

I've got nothing to say except review, tell me what you think, tell me to get my lazy ass to update, etc. This chapter was short, but it's an introductory chapter I HAD to make after seeing the Shippuuden filler. X) I have actually started school so updates won't be that quick, but I'll try. Also, I'm now uploading from an iPad and that just complicates things. I love you all X)


	2. Chapter 2 Teams

Chapter Two: Teams

Becoming a Genin was easy. Performing the clone jutsu?

That's just way too easy. I performed the jutsu flawlessly - with eight copies of me. I asked for a black headband - since blue is too common.

And so here I am, the next day, sitting in the middle back row of the classroom, with nothing to really do but wait for Iruka-sensei. I kept sneaking peeks of Kiba when no one was looking.

I couldn't care less about the Duckbutt Uchiha. My training would make even him fall to the ground exhausted.

Courtesy of my father for suggesting such rigorous exercise.

"Alright class, settle down! We are now going to place you into three man cells-" Crap really? I hope I get someone good; Sasuke would be a good bet. I don't want anyone holding me back. Sakura should go disappear so I don't have to worry about her or Ino making it on my team. I wouldn't mind Hinata... "so get to know your team!" I began spacing out.

"... Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto! Haruno Sakura! Uchiha Sasuke! And due to an uneven amount of Genin graduating this will be a squad of four. Hyuuga Hinata! You're on Team 7 as well!" I grinned. Hinata must be happy to be on the same squad as Naruto. Wait, when did Naruto graduate? Oh well.

"Team 8! Inuzuka Kiba!" Please please tell me I'm on this team! "Aburame Shino!" Pleaaaasseeee! "And Hatake Saya!"

On the inside I was screaming 'Hooray!' but on the outside I kept my cocky and arrogant facade. Kiba groaned muttering something about stoic and arrogant people, and Shino merely adjusted his glasses. Team Ten had Ino-Shika-Cho. The rest I can't be bothered with remembering. We were then dismissed for lunch. Kiba approached me with a scowl.

"Don't hold me back, Hatake. I swear I don't need someone weak like you on my team!" he growled.

He talked to me! Alright enough fan girling, put up your facade!

"That should be my line, Inuzuka." I smirked. With practiced mastery, I slipped past the Uchiha's fangirls to go to a cherry blossom tree by the academy. Sitting on a log, I calmly ate my lunch with Shino. I have no idea when he appeared, but at least he was quiet. Kiba scowled as he stomped up to us and plopped himself down and tore out his lunch.

At least he notices me. It's not painful when he hates me, only when he doesn't notice me.

That's when it's the most painful. Hinata could tell you the same. We were secret best friends, talking about our crushes, our training routines, that sort of thing. I'm happy for her; Naruto could notice her now.

A woman with wild hair and red eyes approached us. She looked like a Jonin.

"Team 8?" She asked. Kiba and I nodded. Shino kept sitting there like... Shino.

Don't misunderstand, I love Shino... As a friend, of course. She nodded and surveyed us. "An Inuzuka, an Aburame, and a Hatake. Interesting." She murmured. "Very promising." she grinned. "Let's introduce ourselves. I am Yuhi Kurenai, I'm a genjutsu specialist. I have many things I like and not many I dislike. My dream is to protect Konoha. My hobby is training. Hatake, your turn."

I smiled. "I am Hatake Saya. I like some things like clouds and the color black, and dislike fan girls and useless people. My hobby is training and reading, and my dream is a secret." I winked at the end. Kiba grumbled about me being a psychotic bitch and I couldn't help but smirk.

"Inuzuka, speak." I laughed to myself at how she commanded him like a dog.

"I'm Inuzuka Kiba! I'm awesome with my kibaliciousness. I like training and Akamaru and dislike... Saya I guess." I frowned. "My hobby is training and my dream... Never really thought about it."

"Aburame."

"I am Aburame Shino. I like bugs." And with that, Shino's introduction ended.

"Good. Tomorrow we will participate in the real graduation exam."

"What?! Real exam?!" Kiba exclaimed, bursting my ear drums. I growled.

"Shut your face, dog, before I shut it for you." I hissed. He made a face to complain, but I sent an icy glare. He closed his mouth and turned back to Kurenai-sensei.

"Of the original graduates, only nine or ten will pass and become real Genin. It's a pass or fail test of over 66%. The academy exam was just to see who would qualify to become Genin." She explained. We nodded with tension in the air.

"Meet me at the training grounds at seven a.m. Don't be late." She poofed away using Jutsu and I grinned.

I'm obviously going to come late like Dad does.

AN: Wow I got two reviews within an hour of posting the first chapter. That scared the crap out of me! Okay sorry for not doing any more chapters of them being kids, but I wanted to get on with the story. I have to ask you all a question: do you want short chapters with fast releases, or longer chapters with a longer release date? Let me know and I'll fix my story plan accordingly. Thanks! Review me :D


	3. Chapter 3 Teamwork

Chapter Three: Teamwork

I woke up to see it eight o'clock. I grinned.

I'm late.

With the speed of the ninja that I was, I got ready in five minutes.

I take night showers.

Then, I sprinted to the training grounds, then smirked when I saw everyone waiting for me.

"You're late!" They growled. Except Shino. He muttered something about rules.

"Sorry I'm late, I ran into a black cat crossing my path so I had to go the long way." I lied with a sheepish grin on my face.

Kurenai-sensei sighed. "You're clearly Kakashi's daughter..." she murmured unhappily. I laughed.

"Anyway, now that we're all here-" everyone scowled at me and I merely smirked. "-we will begin. You are to climb up that tree for your lunch." We looked up to see two lunches atop two trees intertwined with each other. "But no hands." She added. I shrugged, knowing I could use Chakra to walk up the tree.

I love my Dad for teaching me to control Chakra.

"And you have to avoid my Genjutsus while you're at it. If you don't get your lunch, you will fail and get sent back to the academy. There are only two lunches, so one of you will without a doubt go back to the academy. " At this I sweat dropped. She's a Jonin... Those Genjutsus will be painful. I then realized.

This is about teamwork. I can do this easily - apart from the Genjutsus of course...

I'd gladly help Kiba or Shino.

Only if they asked for it, though. Grovel before me, weaklings.

Slowly an evil smirk crawled onto my face, and everyone sweat dropped.

Maybe I'm so good at my facade that it's becoming real! Shino, with his usual stoic face, turned to me.

"I call being leader for this." I nodded with no complaints. Before Kiba could burst out, I sent him a quick glare.

He's so cute...!

Anyway, Shino wanted to speak, and so I gestured for him to go on.

"Kiba and I will get the lunches. Saya, distract Kurenai." He murmured.

"I can climb trees without hands. I can get the lunches." I told him. He pondered over this, then nodded.

"Saya will get the lunches. Kiba will be a decoy." At this Kiba scowled with such hate I didn't even know he could conjure up. He's still hot. "While Kurenai-sensei is distracted by Kiba, I will attack. We will take turns being the decoy." Shino gestured for Kiba to come closer, and Shino whispered the remainder of his plan. I tapped my foot as I waited. The sky is so blue... How is it always so blue? Look, there's a dog shaped cloud! Hey look there's a bear!

"Begin!" Kurenai-sensei's voice cut through my reverie. I instantly gathered Chakra at the bottom of my feet and ran up the tree.

I ignored anything going on down below. If I looked, I'd get distracted and I'd accidentally stop my Jutsu.

The sound of Kunai whistling through the air made me backflip onto another tree. I landed on a branch and grimaced. I looked down to see Shino and Kiba fighting with Sensei.

"Who threw the damn Kunai?!" I cursed down at them. Shino looked up apologetically before returning to his strategy. Shaking my head, I continued trekking up the tree. Kurenai-sensei appeared before me, blocking my path. My eyes widened, and I snuck a peek to see the Kurenai that Shino and Kiba were fighting was a clone. I scowled at her. She threw Kunai and Shuriken, but I wasn't going to waste any more time and simply ran around her.

'Damn how tall ARE these trees? They didn't look that tall from-'

I stopped running and kept my feet on the tree. I slapped my palm to my forehead.

Genjutsu. I'm stupid. I made the hand sign quickly. "Kai." I murmured. I found myself back at the branch from when I back flipped. I growled in frustration.

This isn't like me to make such a stupid mistake. I took a deep, calming breath before summoning more chakra to my feet. Quickly, I managed to hop over to the lunches and grab them. Carelessly, I jumped back down.

Then promptly panicked. Thinking quickly (and rashly) I summoned chakra to my legs that would (hopefully) cushion my fall.

And luckily it did. My fall created a small crater, but that's not a matter to be concerned with. I grinned and held out the two lunches. I gave one to Kiba and the other to Shino.

"You do realize that by giving them the lunches, you choose to fail, correct?" Kurenai-sensei questioned. I turned to her and gave a small sheepish grin.

"I'd gladly sacrifice myself for my teammates. My father always told me a comrade is far more important than oneself. Those who disobey the law are scum, but those who abandon a comrade is worse than scum." I recited to the best of my ability. Kiba looked shocked that the arrogant better-than-thou me decided willingly to go back to the academy for the sake of the rest of the team.

Shino remained his stoic self. I think I saw some shock, but I'm not sure. You can't easily read someone like Shino. Maybe in truth he has some serious anger problems and curses every second?

Alright that'd be hilarious. Kurenai-sensei smiled at me.

"Congrats you three. You all pass!" Kiba was dumbfounded. We all tried to explain to him what the point of this was... Without much success.

His confused face is cute, too.

The two of them ate their lunches, and I went home to grab some as well.

We were sitting in the training field in silence.

I made an awkward turtle and quickly dropped it before anyone saw the stupid grin on my face. Pushing the emotions from my face, I picked at my food.

Dad told me was in charge of Team 7. They'll soon realize he's a lazyass who is always late. I sort of wish I was put on my dad's team, but I can't do anything about that.

In this team, I feel like the third wheel. Kiba and Shino are good trackers, and I have to rely on my dad's summons. Those dogs have really fickle personalities! I can't even get them to do what I want half the time!

I should really ask dad or an Inuzuka about it. Dogs seem to hate me.

I began spacing out.

"... HATAKE SAYA! Stop ignoring me!" I snapped out of my thoughts and glared at Naruto. Sure, I think Naruto and Hinata would make a cute couple, but I couldn't stand the kid. "Your dad can't get anywhere on time! Tell him to come earlier!" He growled.

Kiba scoffed. "Saya also came late today with some lame excuse about a black cat." Naruto sweat dropped. He was about to complain some more, but he just turned and left.

Prick.

Kiba began laughing at the annoyed look on his face. Kurenai-sensei stood a bit away from us, shaking her head as if deluding herself she wasn't our squad leader.

Shino examined a bug.

The truth hurts, doesn't it?

We packed up our lunches and called it a day.

As I was walking home, I realized... My house is in the same direction as the Inuzuka Compound! He could partially walk me home every day after training.

Suppress that blush, Saya.

Kiba kept grumbling at how his "kibaliciousness is too kibalicious for such a damn quiet squad." I looked over at him and smirked.

Ah the joys of walking home with the guy you like and he can't see past the half-assed facade you hide behind.

"Hey what you said about never abandoning a comrade today?"

I looked at him. "What about it?" I mumbled.

"Were you telling the truth?"

I sighed. "I may think I'm better than all of you, but I'll still fight by your side. One of your strengths could be my weakness, or whatever. Don't think this changes how I feel, pup."

He growled. "Don't call me pup!"

It was so easy to get under his skin.

I laughed and ran home, elated from everything that happened today.

**AN: I tried to drag this chapter out (I'm sure all of you noticed). Honestly I don't think this story so far is my best work and I'm not that pleased with it, but it just might be that I'm writing and uploading this on my iPad. Yeah... Review! Or Kiba will never walk you home! Lol...**


	4. Chapter 4 I'm Better and That's a Fact

**Chapter Four: I'm Better and That's a Fact**

Another day, another training session.

And more lying to people about what I really think.

For example: Kiba is hot.

And I tell him he's a mangy mutt who should go die in a hole.

Well... I never really said that but I have implied it.

I'm a bitch.

We stood at the training field, waiting for Kurenai-sensei to appear.

Kiba was glaring and scowling, and Shino was... Shino.

Shino is just too Shino to come up with a word to explain how he is.

Finally, Kurenai-sensei poofed in.

"We're going on a C-ranked mission tomorrow. Be there at six a.m. Don't be late." The last part was directed directly at me and I sweat dropped.

Every day ever since we became real Genins I came late for every single training session and every single mission.

Like a champ.

Or, in this case, like my Dad.

I've already used up all of his excuses so I have to come up with new ones.

Shikamaru moment: what a drag.

Kurenai gave me one last scowl before teleporting like the ninja she is. Kiba turned to me and scowled.

"I hate you." At this, I raised an eyebrow. "You think you're SO much better than everyone else! Ever since day one, you've been so aggravating! What's your problem?!"

I laughed. "I don't think I'm better than everyone, just everyone Chuunin and lower. I'm better and that's a fact, and things will always be like this." He trembled with rage while I smirked.

You know, his angry face is quite hot. I have half a mind to sexually assault him.

Control yourself, Saya.

I mentally scolded myself for being a pervert.

Thanks, Dad, for leaving your Makeout Paradise books open on a rather...suggestive scene.

I've never been the same since.

"I thought you were a nice person cuz you said you wouldn't ever abandon a teammate, but right now I can't tell who you really are!" I was rather taken aback by this.

He caught me completely off guard. That's one of the things I like most about him. He's sometimes unpredictable with his emotions.

He's cocky, confident, short tempered, but he's a generally sweet when it counts, and just overall perfect.

Uchiha Sasuke would never compare to the awesomeness that is Kiba.

During my mind ranting, I accidentally let a smile slip through. Realizing this, I quickly covered it up with a glare.

"I'm not a nice person. I never was, and never will. I'm a bitch, and I know you whole heartedly agree." With those words I turned away and started walking. During our little exchange Shino disappeared to be Shino somewhere else. "And by the way, I'm better than you. It's still a fact."

I heard him make a sound of rage and something snap and break. I definitely did not want to know what it was and just left it be.

After getting out of his sight, I fell back onto a tree and sunk to the ground.

Saying all that killed me. I didn't mean any of it.

But in a way, it was good to do that. This way, if I ever get hurt, he won't bother with me, and I won't have to worry about blushing or stuttering around him.

However, my heart still hurts. I buried my face in my knees and silently cried.

After a few minutes, Kiba walked past me. He paused and then backtracked. I looked up at him with my tear-stained face, knowing exactly how vulnerable I looked. Both of our eyes's widened, and I ran off before he could question me.

**AN: I'm going to try making longer chapters from now on. This was a short little filler before I get into my first major arc starting next chapter. Review! And tell me how crappy my story is! Actually just give me a review in general. I'll try to write and update when I can since I now write on my iPad and therefore can bring it anywhere and write instead of my laptop. I actually write in school if I'm early to class, in study hall, and at lunch. **

**And I'm still abiding by the rules, as long as the wifi setting is off. Hell yeah X)**

**I love you all! And I'm going to start on the next chapter because I really do love you guys!**


	5. Chapter 5 First C Rank

Chapter Five: First C-Rank

I arrived at exactly six forty five. Kurenai raised her eyebrows at me being here fifteen minutes before the next hour, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hi~ sorry I'm late. I saw my Dad's book and had to find mind soap." Kurenai-sensei began laughing and clutching her sides.

This excuse was rather believable...

"Anyway..." Kurenai gasped for air. "You're fifteen minutes early." I cocked my head to the side in confusion. "I lied so you'd get here on time."

I chuckled. "Clever, Kurenai, but now that I know you'd do something like this I'm going to be unpredictable from now on." I warned her with a closed eye smile. She sighed.

"At least you were early for once..."

"Hey I was always early for the academy!" I told her. She looked at me disbelievingly. "Ask Kiba or Shino if you don't believe me." I huffed.

Kiba and Shino weren't here yet.

Suddenly Shino was standing right next to me.

"Holy crap Shino! You scared me!" I growled, picking myself off the ground. He surprised me, and I fell.

So graceful, yes?

Then Kiba came with his hood down and Akamaru sitting atop his head. Kiba did a double take at me being early. I smirked.

"I actually thought I was late until Kurenai told me she lied to me." He nodded in understanding. He turned to Kurenai.

"She said she saw Kakashi's book and had to find mind soap." She began chuckling again. Kiba blinked at her in confusion.

"Dad reads M rated novels." I told him, smirking. "I accidentally read a rather risqué scene. The mind soap didn't work." I shivered. Kiba laughed at me.

"How could you possibly need mind soap for your dad's book?" He questioned between laughs.

"Would you really want to read about the details of BEEP and BEEP, and exactly how it feels for both people?" He stopped laughing and paled. Kurenai also paled, then blushed.

Hm... Interesting.

Shino remained Shino.

"... Got any left over mind soap?"

I began laughing at Kiba's question. "I used it all and it didn't even work." Kurenai-sensei sighed and began walking out of the village. I jogged to catch up with her. Then when I was standing behind her, I stuck my tongue out at Kiba childishly.

Silently I snickered as he fumed behind me. Kurenai leaned down to whisper. "You like him don't you?" I stopped walking and a huge blush raged on my face.

"M-maybe..." I stuttered. She laughed.

"That's cute." Blushing more, I began catching up with her. I'd so much rather stand next to Shino, but he's at the back of the group. I'd have to be behind Kiba, and I don't trust my face to not show emotion at this time.

Eventually, we reached the Land of Stone. Kurenai-sensei explained we were escorting a man from Tsuchigakure to Amegakure. Then we had to stay for two weeks, arranging his safety with the Amegakure ninjas.

I was a bit suspicious that he hired Konoha ninjas instead of Iwa ones.

After some more walking, we saw the gates. Kurenai-sensei talked to the guards and our client came out. My jaw dropped.

Good-looking bastard. He had shaggy black hair and piercing ice blue eyes.

"My name is Arashi Sora. I expect you to get me to Ame." His voice had no emotion.

I did my infamous cocky smirk. "Hatake Saya." Kurenai-sensei sighed and shook her head.

"Yuhi Kurenai. I'm the leader of these Genins." Arashi-San took a look at all of us once Shino and Kiba said their names.

"That girl looks weak." My smirk grew wider.

I'm so glad he underestimates me. I didn't say anything, to everyone's surprise. We then promptly set out for Ame, which was quite far away, but not as far as Konoha was.

I sighed. A week walking.

We were in the Land of Grass since the path we took went through there, when a kunai was thrown in front of Kurenai-sensei. I had been spacing out when that happened. My eyes widened and I searched for chakra.

I didn't find anything.

Panic overtook me. If I couldn't find any chakra signatures, then that means whoever we're against was at least a Jonin.

I never could find Dad when we played Hide and Seek for training.

Kiba, Shino, and I surrounded Sora with Kunais drawn.

A laugh reverberated throughout the field, since you know, the Land of Grass is seriously the Land of Grass.

That's when I knew: we're screwed.

AN: This is the first chapter of my first arc XD I have now planned up to chapter 22. Go me! I had a few fill in the blanks for this chapter but hey it's all good! Several times I wanted to end the chapter, but I need to start making them longer. I know this chapter isn't long lol, but my planning requires it to end here. I should've put more awkward moments.

So how have all of you been? I've been awesome, a little panicky over Honors History, but it's all good now. I painted my nails red and told my friends "I am leader! I shall make the world experience PAIN and SUFFERING!" and then I was rudely told to shut up. And it happened during a fire drill, which was funny. We got two fire drills in one day! My biology teacher said, "I don't want to dwell on negative things but-" Fire drill. It made me laugh cuz the day before, he said "The second escape route in the lab room is the window. They say that because apparently the third floor is a survivable fall. So if the door is blocked during a fire-" Fire drill.

Lol when my biology teacher talks about negative things, we get a fire drill.

Yeah I've been babbling. But my friends don't like it when I talk. I've got awesome friends.


	6. Chapter 6 An A Rank in Disguise

Chapter 6 An A-Rank in Disguise

Well, I had absolutely no idea how to fight off a Jonin and live. Dad would always end the sparring session before I died.

I grit my teeth in frustration.

I'd have to depend on Kurenai-sensei and my team. I saw Kiba glance at me and see my enraged expression. His eyes widened before he sniffed the air.

"Exactly below you, Kurenai-sensei!"

She was stabbed before bursting into cherry blossom petals.

I let out a sigh of relief before scowling at our opponent.

"Hand over the target." He had brown hair and cat-like green eyes. He wore a black trench coat and black leather pants.

I stomped my foot on the ground in annoyance. He looked hot, too!

Kurenai-sensei snuck up on him and attacked. They both unmasked their chakra and I fell to my knees.

His chakra... It's too powerful. We can't win.

As they exchanged blows I trembled and allowed my facade to fall. Tears fell at knowing I would die if I fought someone like him.

Anyone would be frustrated with me right now. Me, the ever-confident Saya, believes she can't win. The client snorted.

"I knew it, the girl is just useless baggage."

"Heheh... So what if I can score the highest on Tai, Nin, and Genjutsu exams?! It means nothing if the opponent is above Jonin-level! Anyone can get scared!" I admitted, standing up shakily and grabbing my discarded kunai. "I'm afraid right now. His chakra is enormous. I've never sensed anything like it. Of course I'm scared. I don't want to die yet. There are things I want to do and truths I want to admit. I want to prove I'm not weak. I want her, wherever she is, to know that even though she's gone, I haven't felt the least bit discouraged." I meant to speak this in my mind, but it ended up slipping through my lips and everyone looked at me, shocked I could admit being afraid.

The enemy laughed at me. I cut off my tears and scowled.

"I am Hatake Saya, and I refuse to lose!" I growled to myself. "I refuse to show any sign of weakness!"

And it just so happens at this moment, the universe decides to screw with me. Kurenai-sensei becomes incapacitated by an earth jutsu that binds her to the ground.

"Run! You're no match for him!" Sensei exclaimed.

The enemy (I wonder what his name is? Ok, so not the time.) created ten earth clones and they flanked us.

I took a deep breath, and flew into action. One earth clone had its throat slit quickly, and another took my foot to its stomach. Another two surrounded me, and I threw two kunai at each, quickly hitting vital points.

The clones don't have nearly the strength of the creator. He's toying with us. The rest came at me and I summoned shadow clones to help me. A vital point there, a well aimed punch here, and they all crumbled to earth. I took in a deep, calming breath and released it. I recreated my fighting stance and smirked.

"I don't know the meaning of losing."

The enemy smirked. "I like you, kid. My name is Heartnet Train, of the Chronos Numbers. Number thirteen, to be exact. I've come to deliver some bad luck."

I grinned at him. "Thirteen just happens to be my favorite number."

From what I can observe of the jutsu he is holding sensei with, I can tell he himself cannot fight or else the jutsu will come undone.

I pumped chakra into my feet, hoping to quickly get to him and free sensei.

When I reached him, I drew several shuriken and aimed at his vitals. He smirks and dodges, then realizes too late that killing him was not my goal. Kurenai is unbound, and I don't have to fight anymore. I release a shaky breath of relief.

I heard someone cry out Kiba's name and my blood runs cold. Seeing a clone run to Kiba, about to kill him. My body moves in front with a burst of chakra and I take a hit barely missing my heart.

I grin as blood trickles out of my mouth.

Kiba lets out a sigh of relief until he sees the end of a sword exiting through me. Train removes the sword and I collapse.

I look up, still grinning. "No one harms one of my teammates. I'd rather die than let you hurt them." I coughed out.

Black and red spots danced across my vision.

"SAYA!" My team cried out. There was once voice that stood out.

Kiba.

His voice was laced with guilt.

I turned my head and gave the famous closed eye Hatake smile.

The darkness was begging me to give in and my eyelids were so heavy. I didn't want to hold on.

And so I passed out.

AN: Oh snap don't die Saya! Lol.

I wouldn't kill off my main character!

Right.. I see the error in that previous sentence for those of you that read 12 Demon.

I never really liked my ending for that story. Haha sorry for that spoiler if you haven't read 12 Demon.

Anyway, I made another short chapter. Damn you, planning! I should just combine chapters in my planning!

And skip out on awesome chapter titles? Yeah no. Sorry folks. But hey, I write fast! I loves you all very much!


	7. Chapter 7 Near Death

**Chapter 7: Near Death**

**Kiba's PoV**

Kurenai-sensei had engaged the enemy. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Saya collapse and drop her kunai.

"I knew it, the girl is just useless baggage." I was shocked.

Hatake Saya, the girl who believes she's better than anyone else, collapsed in fear?

"Heheh... So what if I can score the highest on Tai, Nin, and Genjutsu exams?! It means nothing if the opponent is above Jonin-level! Anyone can get scared!" She spoke shakily, admitting her thoughts. She stood, slowly but surely and also grabbed her fallen kunai knife. "I'm afraid right now. His chakra is enormous. I've never sensed anything like it. Of course I'm scared. I don't want to die yet. There are things I want to do and truths I want to admit. I want to prove I'm not weak. I want her, wherever she is, to know that even though she's gone, I haven't felt the least bit discouraged." I could tell she didn't mean to say any of this out loud. Her words shocked me.

Who is the person she's talking about? Who left her?

The enemy laughed at her and I scowled at him.

She's having this awesome pep talk to herself and he laughs?!

"I am Hatake Saya, and I refuse to lose!" She growls to herself. "I refuse to show any sign of weakness!"

I never expected to see Saya discouraged. She was always confident, and maybe just a bit - alright, VERY - cocky.

Being afraid is out of the question for Saya.

At that moment, Kurenai-sensei became bound by a jutsu.

Saya spurs into action, taking down all ten earth clones easily.

I didn't pay attention to when the enemy and Saya spoke.

Only when I saw an earth clone speeding towards me with the intent to kill did I growl and ready myself for a counter attack.

Suddenly, everything happened so quickly I could barely understand what was happening.

Saya stood in front of me, shielding me with her body.

"SAYA!" I screamed.

That was a fatal injury.

She could die.

Because of me.

I admit it, I actually enjoy whenever she talks. I like it when she's cocky, her lame excuses when she's late.

If she dies, nothing will be the same anymore.

Akamaru howled as she grinned up at the clone.

"No one harms one of my teammates. I'd rather die than let you hurt them." She coughed out, still grinning.

She turned her face towards me and smiled gently.

I felt my heart ripped out of my chest as she fell forward and passed out.

"An admirable sacrifice. Dog boy, don't put her sacrifice to waste."

At this, I snapped.

"Akamaru, Man Beast Clone!" Akamaru turned into a copy of me. "Fang over Fang!" We spun fast similar to a drill and the clone was reduced to dirt.

The assassin smirked and created another clone.

I growled.

"Kiba, take care of Saya! Shino, guard Sora! I'll get the assassin!" Kurenai-sensei ordered.

Shino and I nodded and I rushed to Saya's side. I checked her pulse and found it weak.

It was amazing she was even alive.

I heard a cry of pain and saw Kurenai-sensei stab the enemy in the heart.

Good riddance.

I tried to stop Saya's bleeding, but I was shaking.

If she dies, it's all my fault.

She protected me.

Didn't she hate me?

So many questions spun in my head, and the only person who could answer them was slowly bleeding out in my arms.

Kurenai-sensei took her out of my arms, and I looked at her with desperation and guilt written all over my face.

"Don't worry, Kiba. She's a tough cookie. She'll live." Sensei said, and I nodded.

She sighed and green chakra surrounded her hands. "I trained a little in medical ninjutsu. I hoped I'd never have to use it." She sighed. After a few minutes, she handed Saya to me.

I was holding her bridal style.

"Carry her. She's not going to wake up until we're at Ame." I nodded and adjusted my hold so she would be comfortable if she woke up earlier than expected.

We once again began traveling, my gaze falling onto Saya's peaceful expression more than once.

After a few more days of traveling, we arrived at Amegakure.

It rained so much.

If Saya was awake, she'd comment on me smelling like a wet dog.

She still hasn't woken up.

Saya would stir in her sleep, muttering something about her mom.

We were staying in Sora's house for another week.

We've been here for a week. She's been asleep for nearly two weeks.

Does it always take this long for someone who's early bled to death to wake up?!

Akamaru would whine to me how I'm not taking care of myself properly. I'd only leave her side to take care of daily necessities. I'd eat near her if I could.

Do I really care about her more than I think?

**AN: First chapter in Kiba's PoV! Tell me what you think! I had a hard time writing this.**

**I know in previous chapters I seem to have neglected Akamaru. I pay more attention to SHINO! There's something wrong here lolz. I tried to make up for it here. **

**Kiba cares about Saya somewhat! Yay! I think I might be writing him a bit OOC. DX I can't write characters that aren't my property that well! But I really liked writing this chapter. It was cute. My eyes watered a little bit. Oh Saya you softie, you. **


	8. Chapter 8 Recovery, Trees, and Rivers

Chapter 8: Recovery, Trees, and Rivers

Saya's PoV

I groaned and slowly opened my eyes. There was a sharp pain in my chest, and I could vaguely feel bandages wrapped around the area.

I searched my memory for what could have happened, then blushed when I remembered I saved Kiba. I remembered his grief laced heavily in his voice as he screamed my name.

That's something that doesn't happen every day.

I blinked and realized I wasn't anywhere I knew. Sighing, I slowly began to sit up.

Hearing a soft whine of a dog, I turned my head to see Kiba sleeping on the floor. Akamaru was nudging him with his nose. I 'aww'ed at the cute sight and held a breath as pain hit me. I fell back, understanding I wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

I let out a loud sigh and I heard Kiba jerk awake on the floor. Turning to him, I laughed when I saw his disheveled state. His messy hair was much messier than usual, and his clothes looked slept in. He had dark bags under his eyes, revealing he hadn't been sleeping much.

"Saya?!" He exclaimed loudly. I winced.

"Stop barking, mutt, before you make me go deaf. I'm awake."

He smiled all big and innocent and I realized just how much guilt he felt when I nearly died in his place. As quickly as that adorable smile came, it disappeared and a serious expression took hold.

"Why?" And so he finally asks the question.

"I felt the need to protect you. I'm not big on animal abuse." I stuck my tongue out at him, but I didn't irritate nor amuse him.

"I want the truth."

He wants me to admit I've had a crush on him since I first saw him? That seeing him smile makes my heart skip beats? Of course I decided to lie.

"I didn't want to have to drag your corpse back to Konoha and deal with your crying family." I said this in a monotonous tone, making me wince inwardly at the harsh words. His eyes widened and he looked away.

"I hate you." He murmured.

And now Kiba thinks I'm selfish.

Muttering curse under my breath, I slowly sat up. I gasped in pain many times, but Kiba looked at me with such a hurt expression that it made me not even dare to ask for help. No pleading looks, no complaints, no soft murmurs of 'help me.'

He knew I needed help, but he probably thought I had too much pride to ask for it.

It's not true. I just don't want him to get attached to me. I swung my legs over the bed and placed my elbows on my knees and took a deep breath.

Walking is going to be hell.

Slowly but surely, I placed my feet on the floor. Instantly, the blood rushed to my head and my vision blurred. I stumbled and fell forward.

When I landed on the floor, I began cursing colorfully and let out a whine of pain. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kiba wanting to do something, but still looking hurt. My fall was loud, and soon Kurenai-sensei ran into the room. She gave Kiba a look.

"And why aren't you helping her?!"

"Because she saved me so she wouldn't have to deal with the burden of me being dead." I flinched at his words and turned my face away so he couldn't see how pained I was, physically and emotionally. Kurenai-sensei sighed and slowly helped me up.

Once I was standing again, she gave me crutches and I took them gratefully. I murmured a soft 'thank you' to her and she smiled. Sensei ruffled my hair and I growled playfully.

"Saya, I want you to train Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino in Chakra control." I nodded.

"Where's the nearest forest?" I asked. She led me downstairs and pointed. I sent her a sign that showed I understood and I limped back upstairs to grab a few kunai.

I motioned for Kiba to follow me and he growled something about 'such a selfish person couldn't train me in anything.' I smiled softly.

It's good he's believing this facade I hide behind. Shino appeared behind me again, and I fell over in surprise. I picked myself up and glared at Shino, but I got over it.

Shino is too awesome to be mad at. I limped to the forest and they followed me, Kiba not too happy. We came to a forest and I threw a kunai at a tree, marking our training area.

"We're going to work on chakra control." I told him. "Everyone here knows what chakra is and what it does, right?" They nodded. "You may use chakra for jutsus, but you aren't using chakra in all the ways." Kiba was about to speak, but I shut him up by walking vertically up a tree. I sent a steady stream of chakra to remain on the tree. "For example, you can use chakra to stand on water and walk up trees." Kiba gawked and Akamaru pranced up next to me. I smirked. "Looks like Akamaru is using chakra the most effectively." I told them.

I threw two kunai at them.

"Run up the tree. Mark every point you've reached with the kunai. Once you can make it up the tree, we'll work on standing on water." I grinned evilly. "Better step on it. I'm not a patient person." Kiba had a frightened expression whilst Shino just began the training. "Do I have to repeat myself, Kiba?" I asked, sending him scrambling up the tree.

There was a wave of pain from my wound and I visibly winced. I slowly let myself down the tree and sat against the trunk.

Even though this was the rain village, I don't see it raining. Maybe this is a rare clear day.

Pain enveloped me again and I winced again. Black spots dominated my vision and I let out a bitter laugh. I clung onto consciousness as I watched Shino and Kiba slowly master tree climbing. My vision grew blurry. A kunai was thrown before my feet and I saw Shino and Kiba at the tops of their trees. It was also early evening. How long had I been fighting for consciousness? I sent them a weak smile and tried to stand. I managed it and they climbed down.

"When're we going to work on water walking?" Kiba asked excitedly. I winced and squinted at the ground.

"Tomorrow." I slurred, trying to walk back in the direction of the house. Akamaru whined in worry and I sent him a reassuring closed eye smile. My teammates followed my turtle pace back to the house.

"Saya, how'd it go?" Sensei inquired as I stepped through the door. I tried to mumble something before I was enveloped in darkness. I vaguely remember hearing someone scramble around and me hitting the floor pretty hard.

I woke up in the same room, with sunlight streaming through the windows. Kiba wasn't anywhere around and I let out a bitter sigh. His sleeping face was what got me through the day yesterday. Calm and peaceful. I sat up, and noticed my wound didn't hurt as much as it did yesterday. I didn't need crutches today and I let out a cheer.

I seemed to always have recovered quickly. Laughing to myself, I bounded into the bathroom and cleaned myself up, doing my regular morning routine. Skipping downstairs, everyone gawked at me.

"Is there something on my face?" I asked, completely serious. They shook their heads and I began smiling again.

To tell the truth, I had a dream in which Kiba and I were dating. It was totally awesome, let me tell you. I'm really disappointed it wasn't reality.

Obviously, that tells the reason for my good mood. Sensei raised an eyebrow.

"I had an awesome dream last night." I contently sighed. She urged me to continue and I shook my head, stating it was personal. I caught myself gazing at Kiba and blushing more than once throughout breakfast.

Once, he caught my blushing and distant look towards him and confusion was spelled out on his face. I blushed harder and looked back at my food, suddenly not hungry.

Soon we were all done with breakfast and I gestured Kiba and Shino to follow me to the river. I told them to stand on water, and at the end of the day they mastered that, too.

I mostly ignored them until they could stand for thirty minutes without falling through.

Well, Shino could probably stand for an hour...

We then went back to the client's house to relax.

We couldn't work on controlling chakra anymore then we already have.

I hung out on the ceiling, calming down and relaxing as I stared up at the stars.

Kiba climbed up and I scowled at him. "I can't get a second of peace and quiet?" I growled at him. He shrugged, and took a seat next to me.

"What are you really like?" He mumbled, not intending for me to hear.

I smirked at him.

"I'm just not how I seem." I grinned, and slid off the roof before he could question me.

I didn't want him to know the real me.

Once I landed safely on the ground, I sent him a quick happy wave before darting inside.

AN: finally done! Lol this might not be a long wait for any of you but it's annoying for me. You guys are lucky I had study hall today so I wrote all that class, wrote a little in lunch, and finally finished up in gym. I'm finishing this author note in English lmao! I love you guys, review me and tell me how much I suck at writing! XD


	9. Chapter 9 End Mission

**Chapter 9: End Mission**

We had been lazing about, training every now and then.

Eventually it came to the point that we were bored out of our minds with only five more days of the mission. I had learned I was unconscious for a week and two days when I got stabbed.

Speaking of my stab wound, it's fully healed! Sensei came in every now and then to give me chakra to get fully healed much faster than normal.

Kiba kept trying to talk to me in private, and I like the ninja I was, avoided him.

I don't need unnecessary questions.

For some reason, I always kept slipping up on my lies when he was around.

Well, it's obviously because I kept looking at him and inwardly drooling. Any girl would do the same if they saw an attractive nice guy.

An explosion shook the house, rousing me from my reverie. I grabbed my weapons - kunai, shuriken, extra kunai scrolls, and my one katana - and sprinted outside.

The chakra signatures I could sense were similar to the previous assassin we fought - cold, unfeeling, and bloodthirsty.

They were also powerful. I nearly tripped and fell in fear again. Gripping my kunai until my knuckles turned white, I resolved to fight this until the end.

Even if I should die, I will win. My teammates will all come out of this alive. I swear my life on this.

No one should die for me.

When I came outside, I could finally get an estimate of the numbers attacking us.

There were at least fifty, and most of them could create solid clones. I muttered obscene curses involving mothers and female dogs before returning to my fighting stance. One of them laughed at me and started to attack. I effortlessly dodged and created handsigns.

"Earth Style, Earth Clones!"

I pay attention to my enemies. By looking at Train's chakra and his hand signs, I can replicate the attack. Kurenai-sensei appeared next to me and we fought side by side.

Bugs began swarming the enemy who was planning on sneak attacking me, and I sent a grateful bow to Shino.

"Fang over Fang!" was shouted and I jumped away from my current enemy to avoid being drilled. I smirked at Kiba and he scowled at me. "Don't make me watch your back, Hatake." He spat out.

My smirk turned into a smile. "I should say the same, mutt. I don't want to nearly die a second time." I spoke in a gentle tone, but my words were venomous. He looked infuriated and punched an assassin in the face with such force I heard several cracks.

I winced. That's got to hurt.

Stabbing another enemy, he exploded into smoke and I coughed. Now begins trying to find out which enemies were clones and which were real to avoid exhaustion.

I gasped in pain as I was kicked in the stomach and sent flying.

Growling, I created hand signs for my dad's signature move: Chidori.

The familiar lightning sparked and chirped in my left hand. I began cutting through clones, wincing at the thought of killing.

I'm not heartless.

Eventually my lightning died in the chest of a real enemy. He coughed out blood and grinned at me. He mouthed words to me and my eyes widened.

'Saki sends her regards.'

My mind began processing this information.

It just wasn't sinking in.

While I was dazed with information, I was nearly impaled with a long katana. I quickly dodged and avoided a fatal wound; the end result was a long skinny gash curving from my shoulder to my stomach that completely avoided my chest. That's sort of awkward. I chuckled lightly at my thoughts and winced. I jumped back a bit, faltering every few steps.

Running into Kiba, I finally fell over... While also saving Kiba from being turned into kunai mincemeat. He growled and pushed me off. I stood up and then fell into a crouch, not able to stand safely. Blood trickled out in a steady stream from my gash, making me hiss in pain. Kiba realized I was injured and took a defensive position near me.

"I don't need your help, Inuzuka.." I growled. He gave me a glance and saw me fall back onto my butt and sit there, struggling to stay conscious.

Kiba smirked. "You so need help. Beg for it, Hatake." I scoffed.

"I could still beat your ass, Inuzuka. Don't get cocky. I was just distracted. Lucky hit. He's dead now." I said the last sentence in a hiss. Kiba only grinned childishly and slowly walked away, waiting for me to beg for help.

My vision began to blur when I clumsily made the hand signs Kurenai-sensei used to heal me. I concentrated my chakra and closed the wound. I looked at Kiba and grinned while he scowled, him probably thinking how he didn't get to show off. Standing, I realized I lost my sword. Scanning the crowd of clones and real enemies, I found one who picked up my sword and I watched as he pointed the sword at me and laughed.

A vein popped on my forehead.

NO ONE touches my sword. Mom gave it to me before... That.

Growling, I charged at him, ripping out a kunai from a corpse. I slashed his neck before he reacted and kicked him away, causing him to drop the sword. I quickly picked up my sword and sealed it into a scroll, seeing Akamaru needed a little medical attention. I dashed to the puppy, my hands forming the signs like they've done this a thousand times before. My hands glowed green and I slid to my knees, picking up the small animal and quickly healing his broken leg. Kiba shot me a grateful look and Akamaru made a slight bark of happiness. I took a pill to replace the blood I've lost, and sighed in relief when my eyesight lost its blurriness.

There are only ten remaining enemies. We've been lucky so far that they've underestimated us and add Kurenai's Genjutsu skills, we've been lucking out that they sent cocky bastards.

I hung my head in complaint when each of the assassins created ten clones.

Now we have a hundred enemies to deal with. That's so annoying. They're probably strong, too. Irritated, I looked up to see Shino's bugs beating the crap out of the clones and nine real attackers. I grinned. Kurenai-sensei threw wire and strung up the last enemy, and I happily snapped his fingers so he couldn't make hand signs and escape.

"Now then, I'll have you tell me a few things." Our prisoner spit on sensei at the question, and Kurenai grimaced. "That's gross.." She murmured.

Then she began horrible torture methods that shall scar me for life. I wiped my memory of it for my own sanity.

"Alright, I'll tell you!" The now bloody man croaked. "We work for Chronos, an organization of assassins for hire. We were hired to kill the man for Iwagakure. Bastard did somethin' shady, and so we came in. That's all there is." He rasped.

I sighed and started walking inside to clean up when my wound reopened. I chuckled bitterly as the blood flowed down my torso, staining it. Kurenai-sensei brought out bandages and I took them rather gratefully since her chakra was exhausted. I grabbed wound cleaning liquid and stowed away into the bathroom to clean up.

I came out refreshed and with bandages covering my torso. I did wear a shirt for the guys' self control. I was also wobbling a bit because of the blood loss...

We decided to head back early since the Ame shinobis told us they'd take over for us. And so we happily walked back to Konoha.

**AN: LMK if Saya seems Mary-Sueish. I'd really hate if she turned into a Mary-Sue and I didn't even realize it. **

**Black Cat reference oh yeah! =3 I have now planned up to around chapter twenty six. I've been combining chapters so yeah...**

** Oh and everyone, please! I get happy when I see all of my emails about new followers and favorites, but I want reviews! I need to know what you all think and I want to make sure I like the direction this story is taking. I got all panicky when I wrote this chapter because Saya seemed so over-powered. ... Yeah... But hey, I'll make some terrible shit happen and then wha-la no longer a Sue! It'll be in a while though lmfao. Look forward to the mystery! This is the end of my first planned story arc. Amg, I planned?! yeah my thoughts are so scattered right now. Well I'm going to go play video games because I am a no lifer. I loves you all in the non romantic way! **


	10. Chapter 10 Hospital Stay

Chapter Ten: Hospital Stay

3rd Person PoV

Kiba entered the white hospital.

White, white, white everywhere.

It's like they're putting white everywhere to make up for the lack of it in a funeral.

Kiba held yellow and red tulips in his hand. He came to visit his teammate, Hatake Saya. He received her room number and slowly climbed up the steps. What if Saya didn't want to see him?

What if she really does hate him?

Why does he even care?

Too soon, Kiba stood in front of the door. He sighed and opened it. Walking in, he sees Saya peacefully asleep on the white bed covered by white sheets. The Inuzuka smiles softly and places the tulips in the vase. He sat himself down in the chair and brought it up to the bed.

Kiba gazed at her. The short, unruly silver hair, long lashes, pink lips... He found himself wanting her. He quickly leaned back after realizing he had been slowly growing closer to her and slumped back in his seat. He closed his eyes and sighed. Lazily, Kiba opened one eye and found it was wandering back to Saya's lips. He warned himself silently with a growl. Finally, Kiba found it pointless to stay. He stood, intending to leave. As he turned, he sighed. Instead, he walked up to Saya's sleeping form and gently kissed her forehead. As he leaned back, he saw her smile and sigh contently in her sleep. Smiling himself, he left the hospital in a happy mood.

Saya PoV

When I awoke, I remembered I was in the hospital.

So much white.

It makes me feel sick.

I turned my head to the nightstand and saw a bouquet of red and yellow tulips. I blushed a deep tomato red.

Yellow tulips mean the person is helplessly in love.

Red tulips mean undying love.

Does this mean I have an admirer? Or maybe someone was stupid and didn't know the language of flowers.

AN: Aww so cute. 3


	11. Chapter 11 Training Session

Chapter Eleven: Training Session

I was finally discharged from the white hell.

So much fucking white.

I swear they want us to die from white overload or boredom.

ANYWAY, we were supposed to meet up for training an hour ago, but fuck it. I'm a Hatake. Coming on time is so fucking overrated. I can't go until I have a stupid excuse for being late.

I finally came up with one and skipped to the training ground.

"Why hello folks, sorry I'm late. I got attacked by a giant mutant squid who escaped from the fish tank." My teammates stopped sparring and fell on their faces in shock and surprise.

I grinned. "Miss me, loves?" Kurenai-sensei shook her head, Kiba laughed, and Shino remained quiet. He didn't even bother to repeat being on time was a rule.

Kurenai-sensei only gestured for me to spar with Kiba and I happily obliged.

We started off with Taijutsu and slowly began incorporating our regular fighting style. After half an hour, I jumped back and grinned.

Such a shame no one saw my amazing use of Chidori during our mission.

I made the hand signs and made a weak harmless version of Chidori.

Well, it would sting a little, but I wouldn't be able to cut through to his heart. I hit Kiba, but he poofed into smoke.

Substitution! Good.

He jumped out of a nearby tree and tackled me.

We landed in a rather awkward position.

I was flat on my back and he was straddling me, our noses touching. I successfully fought off the blush and scowled.

He, however, blushed a cute shade of red.

We stared into each other's eyes until he snapped out of his thoughts and scrambled off me. I stormed off faking anger, and hid behind a tree.

I placed my hands to my face and sat down.

There was one thought that stood out from the jumble of disbelieving shouts.

'I wished he kissed me.'

AN: Whee, second chapter for today! You guys are lucky lmao.

This chapter had to be short cuz it's a filler before I start getting into an important part of the story line.


	12. Chapter 12 Truths

**Chapter 12: Truths**

**Kiba's PoV**

After the team finished training, Saya disappeared somewhere. I told Akamaru to go home while I followed Saya's scent.

I found her in a different training ground, with kunai and shuriken embedded in all of the targets. She was running her hand through her short spiky hair and frowning.

"Weak." Saya muttered. She threw her sword straight in front of her, it sinking in deep and coming out the other side.

"Useless." She said again. Growling, she made Chidori. Saya slammed her lightning covered hand into a boulder and watched disapprovingly as it broke into tiny pieces.

"Your own mother didn't even want you." At this sentence, she threw her head back and sighed.

I felt as if I were seeing a side of her I shouldn't ever see.

Tears slowly made their way down her face.

"Weak, weak, weak, weak, weak..." She continuously muttered to herself as she quickly collected the weapons strewn across the training ground.

"See, I must be falling to insanity, talking to myself like this." Saya bitterly chuckled. "I'm not wanted anywhere, so I resort to myself. What a sad, sad way to think, eh Saya?" She directed to herself. Signing again, she made hand signs.

That was when I noticed a few cuts along her palms.

She bit her thumb and summoned a dog.

"Pakkun." She greeted unenthusiastically. The dog looked at her.

"You better have a treat for me, Saya. You don't have a contract with us." She smiled.

"I was hoping we could write-"

"Nope, not interested ." The dog interrupted her. I saw a vein pop on her forehead.

"Why do you dogs infuriate me so much?" She muttered angrily. The small pug gave what looked like a shrug before poofing back to wherever he came from.

Saya looked at the sky.

"Tomorrow, is it? Mom's birthday? I wonder what kind of sad look Dad will give this time. I mean, where is she? It's my fault. It always is." Her voice started out sad, but by the last sentence she was growling angrily. She made hand signs for another Chidori, but she stumbled and the lightning died out. It seemed like slow motion as her eyes slowly closed and she passed out from exhaustion.

I suppose she could only do so many a day. Hopping off the tree, I decided to carry her back to her house. It's the least I could do, after she saved my life.

How does someone repay a debt like that?

Carefully, I picked her up bridal style, ensuring her comfort.

You know, this seems to be happening a lot. Her passing out and me carrying her for whatever reason. Grinning, I slowly walked the distance from the training area to her house.

It was a long and awkward walk. I kept glancing down at her sleeping face and making sure she still wasn't conscious. Funny, really. I wanted to hold her as long as I could.

Maybe she does hate all of us.

I bet she does hate me.

There's nothing that I can do that I can guarantee I can do better than Saya.

Except get along with dogs.

That might be the first flaw I have ever seen in her.

I remember I used to hate her so much since she was so cocky. Saya did have a good reason - she really was better than all of us.

When did that hate turn into admiration?

And when did that admiration turn into this current feeling?

Is it like or love at this point?

These thoughts were making no sense to me as I grimaced and slowed my walking, effectively slowing down and ensuring to take longer for her to get back to her house.

I froze when she stirred in her sleep, muttering something.

"I'm sorry, mom.. I never meant to be such a burden... Come back... Please..." A tear streaked down her face in her sleep. I wiped away the tear and she unconsciously leaned into my hand.

Well this was a really awkward position I'm in. Saya looks awfully comfortable like this, but I can't walk while only holding her up with one hand.

'Holy shit how much does she eat? So heavy..' I inwardly ranted.

Aren't girls supposed to be light as a feather?

She smiled in her sleep after ten minutes of me standing there like an idiot. I'd never leave this down if mom or Hana walks by.

Maybe I'd finally get out of being called gay... I sighed and readjusted my hold on her so I could walk again.

Saya began muttering again while smiling. "Welcome home, mom... I missed you..."

**AN: another semi-filler? I guess? But you get a peek into Kiba's mind and a mystery arises. What's up with Saya's mom? Only I know muahah! But damn I hate writing Kiba's PoV I think I'm doing it wrong. I also think I'm making Saya a tad bit bipolar. **

**Oh and everyone who thought about what Saya looks like and what she wears! I really couldn't care less about describing what people wear and I'd only describe the scene if it was important. **

**Yeah lazy me. **

**But I have been drawing on the back of my tests in school and have planned out what Saya looks like. I even drew a scene in a future chapter that I've only planned out and not written. Maybe if my iPad can post things on Deviantart I'll tell you all my username so you can look at how much my drawing fails, too! Lmfao. **

**Review me! I've been lacking motivation cuz I like reading!**


	13. Chapter 13 The Past and Mother

**Chapter 13: The Past and Mother**

**Saya's PoV, six years ago. (Age 5)**

Darkness.

All I could see, darkness.

So much fear. Fear, fear, fear.

I'm weak.

Where am I? I'm scared...

Mommy... Daddy... Help me.

I heard laughing from a fire behind me as I stared longingly into the dark woods. There were no shapes I could discern in the darkness. The fire warmed my back, but I allowed my hands to freeze.

If I died here, who would cry?

No, Saya! Everyone loves you! I told myself. Cheering up didn't work.

Hot tears began falling down my cold cheeks, warming them slightly.

I looked back to see a ragtag band of mediocre ninja.

They were weak compared to mommy or daddy, but I as a child knew I couldn't fight.

Doing so was suicide.

Sighing, I looked up at the stars to see them twinkling brightly.

When would my parents save me?

I was suddenly picked up and thrown over a shoulder.

Shinobi rule twenty five. Never show emotion.

I stopped crying and wiped away emotion. Never will I give them the pleasure of seeing my suffering.

Colors blurred as it slowly faded to black.

I closed my eyes; it made no difference in this darkness.

Awaking to yelling and screaming is a wonderful way to relieve stress.

Pft, no it's not.

The amateur shinobis were strewn around the clearing and I couldn't help the sadistic grin at their bloodstained mess. Mommy appeared before me and I looked up at her.

Her sad sky blue eyes and her beautiful white blonde hair.

I always looked like my father, but I had wanted to look like my mother. She was so perfect.

Motoye Saki... Hatake Saki. My perfect mother. The perfect role model.

Mommy pushed me into daddy's direction, but all I had wanted to do was cling to her and cry like the child I was.

"See you soon." She smiled gently.

And then she was gone.

Where did she go?

I had found my father and we went back home without a word.

Nothing about mom.

No one knew her whereabouts.

Off the charts.

Gone.

"Please don't leave." I begged the darkness. "Please don't go... Mom... I'm sorry..."

More images filled my mind, but they were fake.

She was coming home.

Her blonde hair swaying slightly in the breeze, my father rushing to her and pulling her into a kiss with his mask down.

They both turned to her and mom spoke.

"I'm home, Saya."

"Welcome back!" I cried out, rushing to hug her.

**END DREAM**

I sat up, taking a deep breath. Once the grogginess escaped my vision, I found myself at home and in my bed.

Bringing my knees to my chest, I softly began to cry.

It was all my fault. Because I was weak, mom left me.

Dad's tilted messy silver head popped in through the doorway. He sighed, and walked into the room.

"I miss her too." He spoke and stood awkwardly in my room. Dad looked out of place in my dark purple room with electric blue flowers painted on it. I lifted my tear streaked face and gave a weak smile. He sighed.

"You're not very comforting, Dad." I chuckled. He gave a weak laugh and nodded.

It was understood between the both of us. We'd lean on each other in the darkest times, but he'd never change how awkward he is when he's around people.

That's why I whole heartedly trust my dad: he never changes.

"Hey, dad?" He hummed in acknowledgement of my speaking. "How did I get home?"

Dad began chuckling in a creepy evil way.

"Um, Dad...?"

"That Kiba boy brought you home. You sure you two weren't reenacting my favorite book series?"

I began blushing furiously.

"I mean it would explain why you looked so exhausted..."

"Dad. Shut up." I mumbled in embarrassment. He only chuckled and left my room, whipping out his orange book in the process.

Yep, never changes.

**AN: sorry for not uploading. I was seriously (and still am) lacking motivation. I love getting followers and favorites, but I get so much more motivated from a review. I like to know what you all think and this chapter was really hard for me to write. Um, have you ever thought about what Kakashi would be like as a dad? Seriously think about it. **

**We have no references to pull ideas from. **

**I read fanfictions in which Kakashi is over protective of his kid, but I thought "Why would he be?" Kakashi doesn't strike me as the over protective of the kid type of dad. **

**Maybe I'm just weird. **

**So, review! And motivate me to write!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 Watching From Afar**

White blonde hair and sky blue eyes.  
She sauntered into the village like she has been doing this every day of her life when in all honesty she had left for five years.  
My feet carried me away as I began crying, running as the streets around me blurred. Away from the gates and hiding from my fear.  
Hatake-Motoye Saki was back.  
And I didn't want to see her.  
It's strange. All these years I've wanted to see her again, to ask where she's been, and to cry how much I missed her. I kept running.  
When did this longing turn into whatever this variation of hate is?  
I hate her.  
She left me. I clenched my teeth and ran faster.  
There's no doubt it was her. She saw old friends, greeted them, and they all called her Saki.  
I stopped running when I realized I was in the team's training grounds.  
Kiba stood a few feet from me, staring at me in confusion.  
Oh... I'm still crying. Letting out a sob, I fell to my knees pathetically.  
Instantly, I felt a warm hand fall on top of my head. I looked up to see Kiba, worried.  
"Why do you care?!" I growled at him. He smirked.  
"I'm staying so I can rub this in your face later. You owe me."  
I sighed in defeat. Whatever, I couldn't care about bringing up my mask.  
"What happened?" He asked seriously. I frowned.  
"My mom's back."  
"... So?" He asked, genuinely confused. He doesn't know, I repeated to myself. He doesn't know she's a deserter and is classified a missing-nin.  
"She's been gone six years. How am I supposed to feel? She left without a warning and now she's back like nothing happened..." I muttered. Realization and understanding dawned on his face, and then I saw pity bloom. I didn't want pity.  
"I don't need your pity. You can take it and shove it up your-"  
"That wasn't pity, it was sympathy." He murmured softly, cutting off my rather rude declaration. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me onto his lap. He rested his chin on the top of my head. I couldn't help the rather happy thoughts flitting through my thoughts.  
Blushing furiously, I asked, "What the hell, Kiba?!" He only chuckled and it didn't help my self control when I could feel the vibrations of his laugh reverberate through his torso.  
Damn.  
He tightened his grip on me and my tears stopped.  
Kiba is definitely awesome, I thought tiredly.  
Sighing, I curled into his hold. I rested my head around the area where his heart was. My own heart battered my ribcage and I could hear his speed up which must be because he was training.  
Pretty soon, I began to feel tired, being lulled to sleep by the gentle rhythm of his heart.  
Why is it I always fall asleep when Kiba is there?

When my eyes next opened, we were still in the training clearing. However, he was asleep and leaning against a tree.  
Kiba must've wanted to get comfortable.  
I didn't want to leave yet, so I resumed laying there listening to Kiba's steady, even breaths. I closed my eyes and began spacing out. I wasn't tired, but I didn't want to move yet. My thoughts wandered to Kiba. What were we to each other?  
To me, he's still my secret crush. Never would I accidentally let it slip that I like him. I wouldn't risk rejection and never being able to be around him again for the slim chance he would like me back. It wouldn't ever happen! I'm the cocky bitch no one wants to be around unless they were in some type of danger!  
Kiba's breathing pattern eventually changed and I heard his heart rate begin to speed up. I lifted my head to look at him and he grinned at me. My own heart began skipping beats and racing. I didn't know why his heart sped up, but I hoped it was for good reason.  
He was so cute, especially when his hair was unkempt like that.  
I had no idea where Akamaru was, but I was happy he wasn't here. It was just Kiba and me, sitting in this darkened clearing of a training ground.  
I jolted with realization. How long were we sleeping?! It was late evening, and if I had to guess it was around nine at night. I felt a warm hand tangle itself into my short silver hair and instantly relaxed into it. Kiba was warm. Whatever trouble I would get in, it was worth it. I closed my eyes and finally allowed a small smile to appear on my face.  
"Feeling better?" He asked me quietly. I murmured a yes and I felt another chuckle come from him. "That's good. You owe me." Giggling, I nodded once.  
"Hey, Kiba?" I asked, waiting for a murmur of acknowledgement. After receiving one, I realized it would be stupid to tell him this, but I did anyway. "Wanna know my only fear?" I felt him nod. "I'm scared if being unwanted and unloved." I murmured, before drifting off to sleep with my mind at ease and with a strange sense of security.

When I next awoke, Kiba wasn't near me and the sun had risen from what I assumed a couple hours ago. My heart felt like it was shattering but on a small scale because i could see him almost every day since we were on the same team. I shrugged away the disappointment of him not being here, but I wouldn't blame him. Who would want to hang around me anyway? My feet began taking the familiar path home. I hoped dad wouldn't pester me about where I had been or what I had been doing - or worse, give me the 'talk.'  
I don't need the 'talk' again. With dad, it was just awkward. He read scenes from his favorite orange book to make sure I perfectly understood exactly what was being discussed. I've had some pretty scarring moments with my thirty three year old dad. Sighing, I found myself in front of my house. As I stared at the small but cozy house, I couldn't help but wonder if mom had been here. I really didn't want to see her.  
I didn't want to hear her disappointment.  
Why else would she have left? She must have been disappointed that I could've been taken so easily. She must have been disgusted. She must have finally been overcome with longing to see dad and her friends again. Why should my existence stop her from living her life? I scowled and turned away from home and chose a clearing somewhere where I couldn't see my house. Setting up a little sleeping area in a tree, I couldn't help but wonder if my thoughts were truly what happened.

**AN: you folks aggravate me. I know what I want to write, I just don't feel like it. I lack motivation. Plus, I'm an honors student therefore I definitely don't ever feel like writing. Please review me. Next chapter will (hopefully) be longer.  
I hope I didn't make Kiba too OOC. God only knows what was going on in his head during this chapter. Ah well. This chapter was all over the place and just plain weird. Sorry. XD**


	15. Chapter 15 People and Places

**Chapter 15: People and Places**

I rubbed my tired eyes and squinted at the glare of sunlight worming its way past the tree leaves. That's right, I've taken to sleeping in trees until I stop running from my fear.

Looks like I'm going to sleep in trees for a while.

Rustling was heard from the bushes below the tree and I scowled at Hinata. "Leave." I murmured to her. She smiled weakly.

"K-Kiba-kun is looking f-for y-you..." She stuttered. I sighed in response and hopped down from my (comfortable) tree branch.

"Please stop that stuttering, Hina. You need more confidence. Anyway, how's things going with Na-ru-to?" I grinned slyly, pronouncing his name slowly. My amusement spiked when I saw her regular blush appear. It's too easy to get Hinata flustered.

"G-good... I g-guess... So how're things with K-Kiba?" Hinata became a little dreamy when speaking but looked at me with a mischievous glint in her eye at the end. Unfortunately, I was caught off guard with the question (even though I really shouldn't have been...) and I stopped walking to blush heavily. She giggled a little and poked me to bring me out of my reverie.

"I think... I'm getting too attached..." I mumbled. She motioned for me to continue. "I mean, I've always liked him, but now it's worse. I think I really am falling hard for him. I always want to be with him, I want him to hold me... I don't think I'll be able to hide soon. I've told myself over and over I shouldn't like him, but you can't tell your heart to stop beating..." Hinata nodded solemnly, and her eyes said she felt the same with Naruto. Hinata liked Naruto a lot, but her father -curse him to the deepest pits of hell - would never let Hinata do as she pleased. Hiashi was going to put the seal on Hinata, and make Hanabi the heiress! I began to growl lowly. How should I kill him?

Hinata brought me out of my bloodthirsty thoughts with a poke and a shy smile. I'm envious - she was strong and beautiful. I felt like a street rat compared to her. Returning the smile, I hopped over a root conveniently placed in my path. Hinata stopped walking, waved shyly, then turned and went back the way we came. I turned back around to see Kiba scowling, Kurenai sighing, and Shino being Shino. Plastering on a fake grin, I skipped up to them. I knew I was late. I happened to forget today was a training day.

"Hi!" I cooed. "Sorry I'm late, an old lady asked me to help her with her shopping!" I chirped with fake exultance. Kiba turned to me with the biggest scowl I've ever seen him with.

"You ran away." He simply stated. I froze, the fake smile dropping from my face with record speed.

"To be expected of me." I finished for him, when he opened his mouth again to speak. Kiba began glaring daggers at me and I watched him indifferently. "I told you what I'm afraid of, is it so unexpected of me to run away?" I asked. It was his turn to freeze.

"I expected more from you, Saya." I inwardly shivered at how he said my name. Not the time, Saya! Not the time! "You're the strongest on this team, next to Kurenai-sensei. For you to run is like the fat kid not eating!" I blanched. If Choji heard him, he'd say it was chub not fat...

"We may be ninjas, Kiba, but we're still only human." I pointed out. Finally having enough of his remarks, I decided to take the safe route and just go home. Maybe he'd finally stop complaining.

Don't kid yourself, Saya. You're doing it because you don't want to disappoint him, I thought. How sad that it's true. Seeing the house looming before me, I took a breath and walked to the door. Slowly, I began raising my hand to knock.

What the hell am I doing? This IS my house!

Without hesitation, I opened the door and stepped inside the small hallway that veered into two directions. I frowned at the feminine shoes next to my dad's. Slipping my shoes off, I called out a "I'm home!" before turning into the living room.

Honestly, I shouldn't have bothered coming home. I also should have expected the scene before me when I saw dad's green Jounin vest discarded before the living room, and his headband close to it. On the couch was my mom and dad, my mom under my dad and they were fiercely kissing. No clothes were between them and the said articles were strewn across the floor. I stood there awkwardly before turning and leaving. As I slipped my shoes on, I grimaced when I heard some rather loud moans and screams of pleasure. I ran out as if my life depended on it, remembering to lock the door as I left.

I wandered to Ichiraku in a daze, and I bought myself a bowl of miso ramen. Slapping down money as payment, my thoughts wandered off to where I should stay for now. Trees weren't doing any wonders for my back, that's for sure. I shivered in disgust when the mental image of my parents popped up. I will never let my dad live this down. I couldn't stay with Hina, Neji always insisted on sparring and Hiashi always gave me the coldest glares while Hanabi would look at Hina with the most pompous smirk I had ever seen a kid have. If I stayed there, I would punch someone in the face. Multiple times. Maybe with a kunai.

I couldn't stay with Shino... I don't mind the bugs he has, but when they're literally crawling ALL over the place in that dark house a non-Aburame couldn't bear it. Choji was out, Shika would be too busy sleeping and his mom is scary as hell, Ino was too annoying, Sakura would get the living daylight a beaten out of her, Lee was out because he'd be spouting crap about the 'Spirit of Youth' and be screaming about how amazing his sensei is, Naruto was too happy, Sasuke has a pole up his butt, Tenten was a possibility, and then there was Kiba. Nope, I won't ask him... I'm relying on you, Tenten!...

Well that is what I was thinking before I stood in front a profusely apologizing Tenten stating exactly why I couldn't stay at her place. Okay, don't panic, just stay with Hina and hope you don't get too pissed. I walked by the Hyuuga complex and saw Hiashi lecturing Hinata on how much of a failure she is. I turned to the wall and punched it with no chakra, and I was pleased to see a decent hole in the stone. Imagine what would happen to Hiashi's face... I chuckled sinisterly after realizing this was the Hyuuga compound's wall. Take that, Hiashi! Doing a weird walking victory dance, I began walking. Looks like I AM going to be sleeping in trees.

Like always, I happen to run into things I don't want to run into! Literally. I was sent onto my butt and Kiba looked at me quizzically from above.

"Don't say a word." I grumbled angrily as I stood. Turning around to leave, I was stopped by Kiba's hand enclosing my elbow.

"Wait.." He spoke hesitantly. I raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier..." I started laughing. He let go of me quickly as my laughs became more hysteric.

Eventually, I calmed down to see a somewhat confused Kiba. Smirking, I walked up to him REALLY close to the point where our noses were touching. While he flushed a cute shade of red, I whispered, "You're forgiven." I couldn't hold back my laughter then, so I stepped back and cackled madly. Kiba sighed and ran a hand through his hair - looking deliciously hot in the process - and cast his eyes on me.

"As an apology, wanna stay at my place? I've already cleared it with my mom." I froze when his words sunk in. A place to stay?! But it's with KIBA, and the fake me would refuse his offer.

But then again, I have a hard time lying in front of him, so I agreed sullenly. His eyes lit up slightly, but I didn't get why. He told me to follow and I (gleefully) proceeded to do so.

**AN: hahaz, you likes? :) *gasp* does Kiba likes her?! ;) hahahaha!**


	16. Chapter 16 Nightmare

**Chapter 16: Nightmares**

Running. I was running. From the corner of my eyes I saw white blonde hair running beside me.

Saki.

She threw shuriken at me, and I narrowly dodged what have been a fatal wound. Tripping, I fell to the cold hard dirt. When I looked up, she stood before me: the one I call mother. Saki grinned psychotically, and drew a kunai. I expected to die right then- I couldn't avoid her in time. I sat there and glared. If I couldn't win, I'd haunt her with my hateful eyes.

Suddenly, a silver flash interrupted what would've surely killed me if he haven't stopped it. Kakashi - dad! Before I could cry out for him, he said words that cut deeply.

"Don't- I'm the one that raised this disappointment. I'll do it." Finally, my tears fell.

Betrayed, betrayed... Lightning sparked in his hand and I gave him a weak Hatake-style smile. His hand went through my heart and as blood trickled out of my mouth, I whispered: "I love you, dad." Dad only laughed and tore my heart out, literally. Then, he looked at my heart disgusted and threw it to the side as I fell to the ground with a tear streaked face.

I sat up, breathing heavily and clamping a hand over my mouth as a reflex to muffle the screaming. Even though I didn't scream, my chakra spiked in fear and soon enough, I heard the rushed footsteps of someone in the halls. I heard the door to my borrowed room open, and I didn't dare look at who it was. Ashamed. That's what I felt. To let the anxiety of my mother returning affect me to the point I dream of dying really bothered me. When I sighed, I heard footsteps calmly approach me and arms slowly wrap around me as a source of comfort.

I faintly realized I knew these arms, and so I whispered his name in relief. "Kiba..." He murmured something in reply, but it was too quiet for me to hear. "I'm sorry for waking you.." I mumbled. Kiba only tightened his embrace in reply.

"I wasn't able to sleep anyways." He whispered in my ear. I suppressed a shiver as his hot breath brushed gently at my ear and part of my neck.

Dear Jashin he's going to kill me. I will die blushing fifty shades of red. Maybe I should start planning my will. I heard (and unfortunately felt) him sigh and Kiba buried his face into my hair. Freezing, I wondered what to do in this situation. I didn't forget my dream, and letting people close to me right now slightly frightened me, although his touch was comforting it frightened me. Letting people get past the walls I build to keep others out, to keep them from hurting me... I became frustrated and the fake personality I use came easily for once.

"Can you leave? I'd prefer it if a mutt wasn't stinking up the room." I growled. His rhythmic breathing stopped, and he unwound his arms from me and I heard his footsteps retreat and the door creak closed.

Finally, I collapsed on the bed and allowed myself to sob quietly. I knew Kiba was right outside and he could hear my sobbing. "I'm sorry..." I muttered. "I don't want to be so mean to you, Kiba..." Footsteps went away and I knew Kiba had left.

By morning, I was long up and out of bed and in the training grounds, angrily improving on my aim. I could feel lightning sparking in my blood and I angrily created a Chidori. The shape was jagged, and unrefined. As soon as I slammed my lightning infused fist into a tree, it exploded due to the instability. I flew back from the explosion and my head slammed into a tree. I could feel blood trickling out of what is I'm sure a nasty gash. I let darkness take over me.

It was a welcome relief to my anxiety.

When I next awoke, Kiba sat beside the white bed.

Goddamn it, I'm in the hospital.

**AN: I was on today and I noticed I hadn't posted this. Sorry o.o**


	17. Chapter 17 Truth and Belief

**Chapter 17: Truth and Belief**

I always believed Saki left because I was weak, but sometimes I couldn't help but wonder. Am I just lying to myself to give me a reason to be strong?

I felt pathetic for a moment before brushing it off and staring at the ceiling of the hospital room. Everything just loves to come full circle back here doesn't it? These trips are starting to annoy me. The door to the room opened and closed as someone stepped in. My eyes flicked over as I was lying on my back and I saw Kiba standing there. He looked nervous. I looked back at the ceiling.

"Why bother, mutt?" I murmured, knowing full well he heard me.

"Curiosity."

"Killed the cat." I finished. "Since you're not a cat, let me rephrase that. Stupidity killed the pup and curiosity was framed." I added.

Kiba chuckled. "Even after passing out for eight hours, she still has her pathetic humor."

I frowned. "Eight hours? Wasn't I just sleeping then? I feel so well rested and I remember my dream, too." Grinning after I finished my sentence, I turned my head to face him.

He was grinning as well, but his soon faded into worry, then I couldn't read what emotion he had within his eyes. He shrugged and tossed a packet of papers into my lap. I opened my mouth to question him but he beat me to it.

"Quizzes. It was Hinata's idea. She said you loved discovering yourself or something." A wide smile broke out on my face and I quickly sat up.

"Got a pen?" My smile was blinding and he fumbled in his pockets for a pencil before handing me one. Instantly, I became absorbed in the questions and the results of the quizzes.

What flower are you? Carnation.

How will you die? Unusual death.

What is your sixth sense? Mind reading.

What emotion burns in your eyes? Passion.

I didn't understand that last one, but anyway...

While I was completely absorbed in my quizzes, I hadn't noticed Kiba had pulled up a chair and was studying me absentmindedly. When I finally noticed, my face flushed as I stuttered while asking what he was doing.

"Admiring your wonderful face." He said, still in his reverie. I cocked my head to the side in confusion.

"Excuse me?" I asked. He startled out of his daydream and realized where he was. Kiba grumbled something under his breath and promptly left the room.

Shame, I love looking at his face in concentration. I barely ever see it since it's so rarely used.

A nurse eventually came in, and I cheered. "When can I leave?!"

"Anytime, sweetie." I cheered again and shooed her out the room so I could change. She grumbled angrily at my rudeness, but I couldn't care less. After changing back into my regular clothes on a flash, I hopped out of the window.

Who needs doors? Those things are lame. Windows are the way to go!

I began walking around Konoha, breathing in the scents of bread, pastries, ramen, barbecue, and flowers. Eventually, I walked into a person (again) but this was a person who was holding hands with another person.

And I didn't want to see either of them.

Kakashi and Saki, both peering at me curiously before recognition dawned on their face. They opened their mouth to say something before I zoomed away in the opposite direction.

No, no, no! They're following me!

I panicked and placed intricate trip-wire traps while running and did a good job if I do say so myself, considering the circumstances. Hearing the familiar explosions behind me, I grinned. I am so awesome sometimes.

All good things come to an end, and I learned this the hard way when Kakashi flashed in front and tripped me.

Well thanks, Kakashi! I just got a face full of forest dirt!... Wow I ran pretty far...

Grumbling and trying to stand, I was pushed back down when Dad put his foot on my back and sighed. I looked up angrily. Saki soon caught up and there was... Worry? She was worried? She doesn't need to worry about Kakashi, cuz he's awesome and all, so who was Saki worrying for? She kneeled down by my face and sighed.

"Saya." She murmured. I scowled at her. "I'm sorry..." She began crying and sobbing, and my expression involuntarily softened. No, Saya, no! She's trying to trick you so she can kill you easily! I tried to trick myself into believing that, but I just couldn't. If she wanted to kill me, she would've done so already.

"Why?" My voice cracked as I asked the question I had been wondering for six years.

"I wanted to kill every single last one of them. I'm sorry it took six years.. I just.. I wanted revenge! They took you from me! They all deserved to die!"

I looked at her in disbelief.

"So.. You didn't leave because you hated me? You didn't leave because I was pathetic?" I sobbed, the tears streaming down my face. Mom's eyes widened.

"No.. No! I would never..." Dad had long taken his foot from my back, so Mom could easily launch herself at me to hug me. When I breathed in her familiar scent of chocolate and mint, I full out cried.

Every single emotion I've felt these past six years, every single one that I've kept bottled up. Part of me didn't want to believe she was speaking the truth, but I'm still a kid, and I'm still gullible. I may be a ninja, but I'm still only thirteen. Mom helped me up and Dad grinned innocently from under his mask.

"Oh I'm still mad at you, Mr Copy Ninja. I didn't want a face full of dirt today, thank you very much!" I scolded. He flinched and slid away a few inches. When I looked behind me, I saw Mom giving a terrifying glare to Dad. Grinning, I linked my arms with their's, and I dragged them off to Ichiraku.

**AN: finally! All the mom stuff is done! About time! Why DOES Saya always seem to end up in the hospital? I never seem to notice until I'm done with the chapter, and by then it's too late to change it. **

**Review me! I will love you forever if you do!**


	18. Happy New Year's!

**New Year's Special**

Saya had spent Christmas with her mother and father, one of the first in six years and the first of more to come. The Hokage gave Team 8 a break until the second of January, and Saya was determined to be lazy until she had to go on missions again. Shino had appeared on her doorstep, bearing a small wrapped parcel and a card to go with it on Christmas. The present was a small fluffy teddy bear that not only Saya adored, but one she gave Shino a tackle for. It was simply adorable! Saya was relieved she had seen neither hide nor hair of Kiba for a while, even though she herself had gotten a present for Kiba and Akamaru. She had given Shino his present when he came: a huge model of one of his bugs that Saya had spent many sleepless nights on. To be honest, she was glad to be rid of it. It was sort of creepy, sitting in her bedroom.

Saya's happy lazy time was disturbed when there was a knock at seven in the evening on New Year's Eve. When she opened the door, Kiba stood there, irritated that he was there. Yes, he liked her, but really. Saya's mom was like Kushina when it came to the wellbeing of her daughter. Saya shrugged to herself, deciding to get rid of the presents while he was here. She told him to wait as she sped upstairs to get Kiba's and Akamaru's presents. Kiba was left sort of lost as she dashed away. Soon enough she was back downstairs with two bags. Saya spotted Akamaru and hung his bag around his neck and scratched his ear. Smiling, she turned to Kiba and held out his bag. His face heated up as he took the bag. He really didn't expect Saya to give HIM a present – after all, didn't she hate him?

Without a second thought, Kiba grabbed her arm and dragged her into the snow-filled streets of Konoha. Saya blushed as he ran through the snow, his grip changing from her arm to her hand. He tightly held her hand and her heart sped up. Kiba suddenly stopped, and Saya nearly tripped from the sudden stop. He let go of her hand and turned to face her.

"Saya," Kiba started, "Sorry I didn't get you anything… I thought you'd throw it out…"

"It's fine…" Saya whispered. The Kunoichi wouldn't actually throw it out; just pretend to then hide the thing in her room somewhere. "I wasn't planning on getting you a gift either. Hey, where'd Akamaru go?"

"Huh. I must've left him behind at your doorstep." Kiba realized that the puppy was, indeed, gone. Well then.

"If you wanted me to come with you, you just had to ask. I left the door open." Saya giggled. Kiba smiled at her laugh, and took her hand again. He began walking and led her somewhere. Saya shivered a little, considering she was dragged outside in her thin pajamas. They weren't running anymore, so that source of warmth was denied. Kiba realized her predicament and shrugged out of one of the jackets he wore that day. Saya took it without complaint and blushed, not even bothering to hide her flushed face. She'd blame it on the cold when Kiba asked. Now warmer and remembering she can use her chakra as a heat source, Saya would skip a few steps and swing her hands.

"Here," Kiba said after ten minutes of walking. Saya raised an eyebrow before looking around. When she did look at where she was, she gasped.

"I thought I knew every hiding spot in Konoha, but I never knew there was a clearing like this!" Trees from above had caught snow from falling into a frozen clearing of flowers. The plants did not hide from the winter chill, but instead grew during the winter. Yeah, this world was weird like that. Just go with it. Flowers Saya didn't even know existed sprouted in numerous patches. She excitedly ran around exclaiming how some flowers were pretty. Eventually she tripped and fell face-first into the ground. Saya sat up, her face the color of a tomato. Kiba knelt at her side and brushed her hair behind her ear. Then, he brought out a blue rose from somewhere and Saya's blush darkened even more, which really shouldn't have been possible, she thought.

But then again, blue roses signify impossibility. _What is he-? _Saya's thoughts were cut off by a quick peck on the lips from Kiba.

"Happy New Year," he whispered to her. Saya fainted and Kiba smiled at her. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her home to find that indeed, the door had been left open. Akamaru dutifully sat at the steps and barked in greeting as Kiba approached. He grinned and walked to Saya's room where he laid her on her bed. He kissed her forehead as a farewell and promptly left the house after feeling Kakashi and Saki's chakra signatures. Kiba closed the door behind him and dashed to the Inuzuka Compound with Akamaru in tow.

When the partners were in the safety of Kiba's room, they dug into the bags to discover what exactly Saya had given them. For Akamaru, Saya had knitted a fluffy white scarf. For Kiba, Saya had scoured the stores for a chain with a lock at the end of it. There was an inscription on the lock's metal. Kiba squinted to read it.

_'Dog-boy is the property of Hatake Saya. Touching of my dog-boy will result in death. Have a nice day.'_

**AN: Sorry for not uploading in a while ^^; Yes, this chapter DOES affect the story. Next chapter if I ever get to it is the Chuunin Exams! Wooo! When am I going to get off my lazy butt and finish writing it?! I don't know! This chapter was short and I was bored while watching Canada's commercials and New Year's Eve shows. Yeah. Happy New Year's all! We lived through another apocalypse!**


	19. Chapter 19 Chuunin Exams

**Chapter 19 Chuunin Exams?**

"Good news, my lovely sla- team members! You all qualify for the Chuunin exams. I recommended you." Kurenai-sensei spoke with a smirk. I sweatdropped when she nearly said 'slaves...'  
Kiba instantly began cheering as Sensei told us the time and place while giving us our forms. Huh. Chuunin exams? Can't wait. When Kiba snuck another glance at me, I raised an eyebrow at him. He's been taking peeks at me lately ever since New Year's and it's been bothering me. He quickly looked away and I sighed. If he's sick, I hope he gets well soon...  
"Since I told you late, tomorrow go to the academy's room three-oh-one by three o'clock," Kurenai continued.  
Kiba began yelling. "You should've told us earlier, dammit!" I smiled to myself. That was my every day Kiba. It's not like him to be worried.  
"Well, it is Kurenai-sensei. She was probably with Asuma-sensei and it just slipped her mind. Asuma must be good in bed, eh, sensei?" I teased. Kurenai flushed dark red.  
"Have you been reading Kakashi's books?!" She scolded. Grinning, I nodded.  
"Dad is right. They're... Educational." Kurenai face palmed while I laughed. Indeed I had read the first book in that series over New Year's slacking off, and I had found I enjoyed it. I only read it because Jiraiya had also written 'Tale of a Gutsy Ninja', and I had really loved that story. Well, since there was no sequel, why not read his other works?  
So I did. And these books are surprisingly good. I whipped out an orange book and stuck my nose in it, continuing where I left off. My team (excluding Shino) sweatdropped. All I need is a sharingan, and I'll be a copy of my dad.  
When I went home, Saki greeted me for a round of shogi which she let me win at. That game was harder than it looks! Cookies were fresh from the oven. For the first time in a long while, I was happy to be home.

The next bright and shiny day, team Kurenai was at the academy, climbing up the steps. Upon reaching the second floor, I noticed a Genjutsu on the door. Kiba and Shino briefly stopped, smirked, and ran to catch up with me as I nonchalantly walked by. Our teacher is a Genjutsu specialist; an illusion of that skill is pathetic. When we finally reached room 301, it was full of Genin from all over the shinobi world. Akamaru and Kiba recoiled at the stench of people's sweat and fear.  
"Sucks being a mutt, eh?" I grinned at him. Kiba glared at me before taking a pill that for a short time lowered his sense of smell. "Cheater!" I sang while whipping out my orange book.  
Kiba kept grumbling for a bit before realizing I was reading my book again.  
"Just what the hell is so interesting about a damn- woah." Kiba paused his rant after peeking over my shoulder to read a few sentences.  
"It gets better," I grinned. The Inuzuka attempted to steal it from my hands while I ninja dodged his attempts.  
"Na Na Na, you can't get it!" I teased. He growled as he launched himself at me which was rather easy to sidestep.  
"Girls shouldn't be reading that kind of material!" Kiba shouted, desperate to get the book.  
"What are you, my dad? He doesn't mind me reading this, not one bit! He even told me I can borrow the rest of the books," I grinned. Dad was just so lovable. Awkward, but lovable.  
"Get away from Sasuke-kun, Ino-pig!" The familiar pinkette's voice screeched.  
"How did I ever manage to get through the academy with THOSE two? My head hurts and I only heard one sentence..." I winced. Kiba snickered and began walking over to where the other rookies were gathering. Looking at the tense atmosphere everywhere else in the room, I smirked. I skipped after Kiba. Naruto screamed out some crazy self motivational phrase, Kiba degraded him, a silver haired creep (no offense, Dad) came by with his stalker cards, and the creep threw up when Sound ninja attacked him with vibrations.  
Finally, the proctor came. "Pipe down you baby-faced degenerates!" I wonder if I could try out for the torture department? This guy looks like a blast to work with when carving - ehh yeah. I tuned in to find out what I need to do. I sat far from Kiba and Shino, but relatively close to a hot redhead from the Sand with the word 'love' written on his forehead. No, Saya! You're a Kiba fangirl!  
As soon as he said written test, I tuned out again. Obviously since they're giving us a written test they want us to cheat, but I have no means of cheating except my kunai. Since that is too obvious, I'll have to put my knowledge to the test. The paper was handed out and I stared at the paper. Too hard. Brain hurts.  
I put my head down for ten minutes. When I looked at the paper again, I managed to answer the first question in twenty minutes after racking my brain. I put my head down again and slept fifteen more minutes. I got one answered and I know it's right, so we'll pass.  
"I'll announce the final question now. But there are more rules." He droned on and on about if you get the question wrong you'll stay Genin forever and blah blah blah. A lot of people left but I sat sleepily in my chair.  
"I won't run, and I won't hide! Even if I stay Genin forever, I'll still be Hokage someday, believe it!" Naruto suddenly shouted, slamming his hand on his desk and sitting down. I began laughing.  
"That's my dad's team, all right!" I called out. Shino looked over at me silently while Kiba glanced at me. Why is he glancing at me so much anyway?  
"Well, I guess there's only one thing to say now: you pass!"  
"Why is Konoha full of trolls?!" I called out among the shouts of confusion. Some kid sitting in front of me laughed and turned around. He was from the Cloud village... And hot. Like, Kiba-level hot.  
"Because trolls gather together in the Fire Country to be trolls together. Konoha is a poor victim of this troll phenomenon." He said, his black eyes twinkling. Studying him, I saw he had blonde hair and dark skin, like the rest of the Cloud kids. Well, it looks damn fine on him.  
"I have to live with two. My mom and dad. I think they married each other because they're trolls." The kid from Cloud laughed.  
"My name's Konya. Jun Konya."  
"Hatake Saya. Pleasure to meet you, Jun-San." I gave a famous Hatake grin.  
"Eeeeh, Saya-chan just call me Konya." He complained.  
"Then, Kon-kun." I spoke after a second of thought. He looked satisfied with my nickname.  
Surprisingly, a kunoichi burst through the window.  
She spouted some stuff about the second test when Ibiki popped up next to her.  
"Anko, you're early. Again." The purple haired woman blushed, but instantly regained her composure.  
"Ibiki, you left twenty six teams? You're going soft." Ibiki replied that there were stronger Genin this year.  
"No matter. When I'm done with them, not even half will be left."  
I love this village.  
Murmurs of disbelief resounded through the room while I chuckled. "Trolls, trolls... Everywhere..." Kon-kun stifled a laugh at my statement.  
I think at this current point in time the hot kid from Sand wants to brutally murder me. It's visible in his eyes. The anger... But at the same time, the loneliness. Turning to him, I gave him a smile.  
"My name is Hatake Saya, daughter of two merry trolls. What's your name?" He stared at me as if I had three heads and four arms.  
"Why do you want to know?" He growled with a sexy angry undertone. Kiba won't mind if I become a fangirl for the hot Sand kid, right?  
"It's rude to call you the 'hot Sand kid' repeatedly in my head, so I need a name to prevent me from ever calling you 'hot Sand kid' to your fa- oh." I stopped talking. Laughter erupted from me. "See, I did it anyway! Hehe, please give me your name."  
"Gaara. Gaara of the Sand." He finally answered. Cue slight drool. His eyes are intense and such a pretty color.  
"Nice to meet you, Gaara-San. May I be your friend?" He looked at me now as if I were a centaur with five heads. I sighed. "Please?" I pleaded. It took a long while, but he ended up nodding. When he did, I cheered like I had mental problems... Oh. Okay then. Moving on...  
After Gaara-San grudgingly agreed to become my friend, Kiba and Shino appeared behind me and dragged me away.  
As I was being kidnapped, I called out: "Bye, Kon-kun! Bye, Gaara-San!" Kon waved back like a monkey on drugs while Gaara looked away. "Gaara-San, you bastard! I know you love me deep down inside! One day I will make you smile! Mark my wo-" My sentence was cut off by Kiba placing his hand over my mouth.  
"Shut up already, Saya." He hastily released my mouth when I licked his hand.  
"Shut up, Mutt. And who said you could address me without honorifics, anyway? Who do you think you are?!" I complained. Truthfully, I loved the way my name rolled off of his tongue. I ranted away at him. Kiba wisely ignored me.  
"Saya." Kiba and I stopped arguing in the middle of the street. My teammates had released me when we had gotten outside of the classroom. I had begrudgingly followed them; Kiba began to bash on my attitude, and I had returned with a cruel comment after comment until Shino had mysteriously spoken.  
"Yes, Shino-san?" I questioned him.  
"The comment about your father's team when Naruto had yelled out was probably against the rules."  
First time I ever hear Shino actually say a sentence, he's scolding me. Well, I guess that is to be expected, considering I'm me.  
"Since none of us were disqualified, it's fine!" I chimed. We stopped walking when Shino paused.  
"It could've gotten us disqualified. I thought you were the best in the academy?" That really grated on my nerves. I do like Kiba.. A lot.. but I was cool with Shino until today. So, I snapped, like any (in)sane person would do.  
"You act like you know everything. Rules this, rules that, I've been a rule follower my whole life and I WILL be. We're shinobi, tools. We're supposed to be emotionless killing machines for our country." Kiba was taken aback by my outburst while Shino showed the slightest hint of surprise, but I wasn't done yet. "So what if I disobeyed at the Chuunin Exam? We passed, and that's that. They expect us to still act sort of like kids! If we had failed right then and there because of me, right now I'd be on my knees apologizing to you two because we didn't have a chance at the main event! Besides, they didn't clarify any rules except for no cheating! I wasn't cheating, I was merely stating my opinion. So do me a favor and keep your damn mouth shut, Shino. I don't want to hear a word from you for a little bit."  
Shino opened his mouth, about to speak. I interrupted him. "Nope, not listening. I'm not listening to you. And Mutt, keep your trap shut, too. Shino, be grateful I haven't given you an aggravating nickname like Bug-boy yet. Keep yapping about 'rules' and I'll be traipsing around calling you demeaning nicknames. Clear?"  
"Crystal," they both murmured. I smiled.  
"Thank you. Now farewell until tomorrow. I have business to take care of." I mockingly saluted them, whipped out my orange book, and trotted to go find my purple-haired friend.

I found Hinata at the dango stand with the rest of her team.  
"Hina-chan!" I called to her. She turned around, surprised to see me waving with an orange book in my hand.  
"S-Saya-chan!" She murmured my name.  
"How'd you do on your exam? Cheat using that Jashin-forsaken Byakugan, right?"  
"Eeh... Maybe.." She shyly poked her fingers together.  
"Oh, if it isn't Saya!" A familiar blonde ninja shouted, nearly bursting my eardrums.  
"Hina-chan, how do you stand this team?" I asked, aggravated already. She cocked her head in confusion. "Well, there's an emo duckass, a cotton-candy airhead fangirl obsessed with the emo duckass, and a blonde who dresses in orange like an idiot and screams at the top of his lungs and probably doesn't understand how shinobi work in silence and darkness." I clarified. Wincing, I brought my hand to my throat. "I've talked so much today.."  
"W-well... S-Sakura-san isn't that b-bad. Sa-Sasuke-kun isn't th-that br-broody... And N-N-N-Nar-r-u-to-k-kun-" I smirked as she stuttered horribly at his name. "- isn't that loud..."  
"Ah, Hinata-chan! You're a really good person, aren't you?!" The orange-clad idiot shouted.  
Hinata blushed while I laughed. "Anyway, I snapped at my teammates earlier. They're probably surprised that I went off like that. I mean, I saw Shino show a little bit of emotion!" I wailed. "I'm sorry already, I love my teammates so much! Hina-chan treat me to dango!" I pleaded. Hinata sighed and bought me some.  
I happily ate some, all traces of sadness gone. The duckass walked out of the dango shop with Cotton Candy trailing after him like a lost puppy.  
"Hn, let's go, losers." He grunted.  
I snapped for another time that day. "Hina-chan is not a loser, Jashin-damn you! Hina-chan is a beautiful and strong person and will always be better than you! Just because you're an Uchiha and you have fangirls trailing after you, worshipping the ground you walk on, doesn't make me respect you! Respect is EARNED, and right now, on my list, you're down at the bottom of people to respect. You're a stuck-up loser who needs to get a life outside of your own little world and wake up. The world doesn't revolve around your pathetic life." I cleared my throat and finished my dango.  
"Hina-chan, have you found your chakra nature yet? I told Dad a little while ago for him to have you take the paper test." I spoke to Hinata, ignoring her speechless teammates.  
"Don't talk to Sasuke-kun like that!" A piece of Cotton Candy screeched at me.  
"I'm sorry, but I didn't think cotton candy could talk. Which food stand did you escape from?" I asked her. "Besides, I wasn't talking to you. What I say to other people is not any of your or your forehead's business. Shut your trap and leave me alone." She was about to begin talking again. "Oh shut up already. I've seen enough of your aggravating face today." Luckily, she shut up. Finally-  
"Don't talk to Sakura-chan like that!"  
"OH MY JASHIN! Hina-chan, really, how can you STAND this? This is worse than Neji and Hiashi on bad hair days!" Hinata broke out into laughter. Whole-hearted and not shy laughter. I smiled to myself. "There. It's been a while since I've seen you laugh like that." I winced. "I really have spoken too much today. What's with this? I didn't know it was 'make Saya talk endlessly' day! Someone should've informed me!" Hinata laughed a bit more before she finally calmed down. I linked my arm through hers.  
"Hina-chan, you didn't answer my question."  
"Oh, no. Kakashi-sensei didn't have me take any sort of paper test." I tsked at my dad's irresponsibility and dragged Hinata to my house.  
"I don't think you've met my mom yet. Have you heard? She's back! And I was wrong about her!"

**AN: What is this? What is this thing right here? Is this what I think it is? Yes, I believe it is. It's an update. I haven't updated in thirty one days! I have some laziness issues. I should've updated after midterms were over but I was writing this actually and sorry it took so long to finish and i was so annoyed while I was writing this because I'm following the main storyline and I know I'm making a run on sentence but let me disobey the laws of grammar for now because I really don't care and I should be doing my damn homework but I don't want to and believe it or not I'm in honors classes so I'm tired all the damn time and... (Coughs) Hope you enjoyed! Sorry I skipped most of the dialogue, but I couldn't be bothered to continuously switch between Hulu and Notes. I put what I remembered. Also, before you ask if this is going to be a triangle story or switch to focus on Gaara, no it won't. And before you call Saya a Sue because she's strong and nice and awesome and hasn't been killed by Gaara yet, she's going to become pathetically weak. I can say this since I bet no one reads my rants. I mean, who cares? Chapter is up, author rant down below, chapter is all that's needed. Hey, isn't this chapter a little longer than usual? I hope so! I tried so hard on this! ****_I pushed through my laziness to have my little sweethearts gobble this chapter up and be ungrateful bastards who don't review!_****  
Yeah. Please review. I'll become happy if you do.**


	20. Chapter 20 Wait, We Forgot Shino!

**Chapter 20: Wait... We Forgot Shino!**

Shino, Kiba, and I stood among our fellow Genins in front of Anko, who was before us grinning like a psychopath - which she probably is - in front of a tall forest enclosed by a fence.

"This is Training Area Fourty-four, also known as 'the Forest of Death,'" her grin grew wider as she spoke.

The proctor explained how it'd be a death match with a time limit. Get the other scroll and get to the tower - in five days. I briefly wondered if Konoha wasn't as soft and gentle as I first thought it to be. If there were shinobi like Anko and Ibiki dancing around here... Well, my sense of security just went down a little.

Naruto began mimicking the purple-haired proctor, wagging his butt and dancing like a fish on land. I coughed to hide my laugh.

Anko quickly threw a kunai at Naruto, skimming his cheek.

"Ah, it's kids like you that die first, splattering that red blood I love..." Bye bye, sense of security. I'm going to have trouble sleeping for weeks. A creepy Grass Genin handed (tongued?) Anko's kunai back with his tongue.

I made a mental note to watch him/her. I couldn't tell. He/she had the mannerisms of a man, but the looks of a woman... And his/her voice didn't help me at all.

Eventually, Anko handed out papers to sign. I skimmed it and chuckled. She really didn't want our deaths pinned on her, did she? Smiling, I signed it without a second thought. We received a Heaven scroll, and I grabbed it and stuck it into another scroll. That doesn't make sense, does it? I took another scroll that teleports the Heaven scroll to my room and teleported the Heaven scroll to my room. It was currently sitting on my pillow with a note of 'Do not touch.'

Soon enough, we were standing before a gate. Grinning, I waved to the gate keeper who smiled and waved back.

A shout reverberated through the air. "BEGIN!"

My team and I instantly shot past the gates, running straight for the tower. Why? Well, if we go to the tower, we can set traps. If we set traps, we'll be able to get two scrolls. Most people would think to find other people first and steal their scroll and THEN go to the tower, but we decided on going to the tower first. After all, we don't know who has what kind of scroll. Obviously they're not getting ours since it's outside of the forest. After a few hours of running, Shino and Kiba were starting to lag behind me. So, I stopped.

"We'll rest here for now." I muttered. They happily plopped onto the ground. The image of Shino plopping himself onto the ground was so strange that I stared for a good few seconds then proceeded to act as if I had not seen anything strange of him.

"Hey, you still have the scroll, right?" Shino asked. I froze. Kiba began talking.

"Oh yeah, it's in Saya's scroll thingie, right?" Alright, Kiba is real. Shino is not. I spun around and pinned the imposter to a tree with kunai.

"When?" I asked a simple, one word question. Kiba let out a cry of outrage.

"Saya, what're you doin' to Shino? He didn't insult you THAT bad the other day, did he?"

"Shut up, Mutt. You're so stupid. Since when does Shino talk like that? Or plop himself onto the ground?" I asked him. Kiba froze and his eyes widened. He slapped a hand onto his forehead.

"And he smells different, too!" He finally exclaimed. "I thought something was strange but..." Kiba began muttering things to himself while I approached the imposter.

"When did you replace yourself with Shino? And where is he?" I demanded. The imposter smirked then disappeared into a puddle of water. Clone..! I spun around trying to see if anyone was near, my sensing on high alert. To my relief, there was no one... And then I felt a cold and bloodthirsty presence not too far away. I grabbed Kiba by the arm and Akamaru followed faithfully as I dragged him to investigate.

We peered through the bushes to find Gaara-san and Kon-kun. Kon was bleeding heavily and it looked like he was dying while Gaara-san was grinning maniacally. The red-head lifted his hand, and sand followed his gestures.

"Sand Coffin!" His raspy voice called out. Kon-kun was crushed to death. Blood leaked through and stained the sand. My eyes widened and I froze. I felt sick. Quickly, I whispered a prayer for Jun Konya. I hadn't known him long, but I wish I had known him longer. Sand began trickling our way and my blood ran cold. Kiba shouted in surprise as sand held him upside down in the air. Sand wrapped around me tightly, making it hard to breathe. Gaara turned his angry and thirsty orbs to us. His eyes widened in recognition.

"'Sup, Gaara-san!" I wheezed out. I began taking breaths as deeply as I could with sand as strong as iron squeezing me. "Looks like you're doing wonderful today!"

"It's you... Saya, was it?" He asked. Kiba growled as the Sand ninja walked over to me.

"I'm honored you remembered my name, Gaara-san." I'm surprised I spoke coherently, considering I was on the verge of passing out. The sand let go of me suddenly, and Kiba fell on his face next to me.

"Are you not afraid of me? I am a monster." Kiba opened his mouth to speak but I shot him a look.

"You're not a monster. You're human. We're all humans here. We're also shinobi. Well, since we're all shinobi, doesn't that make us all monsters?" Gaara-san cocked his head in confusion. He was like a little kid. "Shinobi are tools, and we're meant to kill people. Even though you've killed one of my friends, that only makes me respect you. I don't fear people. And you, Gaara-san, are a person." Gaara-san's eyes widened and Kiba grinned.

"Saya, the girl who's so annoying and cocky, but knows exactly what to say." He grinned. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Ah!" I suddenly remembered something extremely important. Everyone looked at me questioningly (including Gaara's team). "We forgot Shino!" Kiba's eyes widened and he made a sound of surprise.

"Normally I wouldn't care, but we need him to pass! Let's go!" He grabbed my hand and dragged me after him.

"See ya, Gaara-san! I hope you pass the Chuunin Exams!" I called out. He nodded in acknowledgement and ran off with his team to the tower.

After running for a while, I found Shino's chakra. "Found him, Kiba!"

"I know," he muttered. "I can smell that bug-boy from anywhere." We kept running for a time before I decided to speak.

"You know, you can let go of my hand now." He nearly tripped in surprise when he realized he was, indeed, still holding my hand from when he dragged me away.

"S-sorry..." He stuttered, instantly letting me go and blushing. I grinned. I was going to say something, but decided on something different.

"Why have you been acting so weird since New Year's?" I asked. He froze and I rammed into him, causing us to tumble into each other. When we landed, I was sitting on top of him and his hood had fallen off. "Why have you been acting so strangely, Kiba?" I whispered. His face began to redden.

"It's because... Y-y'know..." He kept stuttering, but he didn't give me an answer. I laid down on top of him.

"I can sit here all day until you answer my question."

"Well, you're going to be there a while..." He muttered. Fine by me. I actually really enjoyed this position. Saya - the girl who knows how to take advantage of situations like this. I suddenly felt an enemy chakra and I froze. Kiba was about to speak, but I placed my hand over his mouth and told him to be quiet. I slowly got up and brought out my katana, and Kiba stood as well. Three chakra signatures surrounded us. Akamaru quietly whined a warning. The three Genins walked out of the bushes, smirking. They wouldn't be smirking soon anymore. When they were about to speak, I threw my katana and impaled the one closest to me. He gurgled a cry before he fell down dead. The other two froze in surprise as Kiba and Akamaru preformed a Fang over Fang. My hands seemed to blur as I preformed the hand-signs to the greatest Jutsu of all time.

"Chidori!" The remaining Genin died of electrocution. After searching the bodies, I found an Earth scroll.

"How convenient!" I grinned. Kiba turned to me in surprise.

"We killed them without knowing what kind of scroll they had?" He shouted.

I sweatdropped. "Yeah... In my defense, they looked like they wanted to kill us!" Kiba sighed and buried his face with his hands.

"I feel sick... They were our age, and we just killed them... Just like that. They didn't even have a chance to speak and now..." He muttered sadly. Guilt washed over me. I sighed and walked over to him. Gently, I pried his hands from his face and wrapped my arms around his neck. Kiba put his arms around my waist and placed his head on my shoulder. I could feel him crying.

"I'm pathetic, aren't I?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No... We're still kids, after all. It's okay to feel guilty for now."

**AN: Phew. To write that much in one sitting was painful. Mmmm snacks... I feel fat ;A; I ate 411 calories while typing this. Well, around that much. I think it was half the bag... Anyway! Hope you enjoyed! I'm still grinning from this chapter. Will Saya ever find out what happened on New Year's? Well, this wouldn't be her story if she didn't. **

**Review! Or else you'll never find out if Saya and Kiba kiss because I now want two reviews before I start writing! Well, they WILL... In later chapters. Not the next one. Hehe. Wait a minute.. It's snowing! AGAIN! Oh my god. Why?!**


	21. Chapter 21 Rokudo Mukuro of the Mist

**Chapter 21: Rokudo Mukuro from the Hidden Mist**

After we killed those Genin, we ran off again to find Shino. Kiba and Akamaru were silent for a while.

"Mutt, if you need to cry again, you can borrow my shoulder anytime," I murmured, being serious for once... again. He blushed madly and stumbled over a tree branch.

"W-Why the hell w-would I c-c-cry again? Wait, I wasn't crying!" He denied. I chuckled lightly and slowed my pace a little.

"Nope, no you weren't crying, indeed." I teased. He sighed angrily, matching my pace.

"Bug-boy isn't that far away now," Kiba announced. I sighed.

"Suddenly I don't want to see him," I told him. "I bet he's going to lecture us..."

"Lecture ME. After what happened last time, I doubt he's going to do anything to you." He groaned. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hehe, now I want some dango for the future entertainment!" I sang. Akamaru barked in amusement. "Hey, can I carry Aka for a bit?" Kiba swiveled his head to look at me as if I had three heads.

"You'll drop him."

"I'll be gentle!" I pleaded. My thoughts went the wrong way and a perverted grin appeared on my face. Kiba laughed and handed me Akamaru. I carefully cradled the pup in my arms as we proceeded our endeavor to find Shino.

Shino wasn't far at all. We soon found him in a clearing, cooking fish over a fire.

"You're late." He spoke eerily. I checked his chakra signature. Yep, it's Shino.

"We got held up by a team who desperately wanted to give us their scroll," I smirked. Kiba looked away. My smirk faded and I sighed.

"In that case, let's move on to the tower." Kiba and I nodded to Shino's statement and we ran off to the not-so-distant tower, fish in hand.

We finally arrived at the tower, and I determined both scrolls must be opened at the same time. Kiba and Shino protested to my idea, saying that the scrolls must not be opened.

"Come on, you chickens. What's the worst that can happen? We die? Not too bad at all!" I argued. They sighed. "Besides, they told us not to open the scrolls until we get to the tower. We're at the tower."

After a long hour of arguing, they consented. On a count of one, two, both scrolls were flung open.

Hey wait, that symbol is familiar...

"Get back, it's a summoning Jutsu!" We dove away from the scrolls as they seemed to explode with smoke. Kurenai-sensei stood before us, grinning.

"Congratulations! You made it in a day and a half! Saya, Kiba, did you two even sleep?" She winked.

My face turned red at the implication as I stuttered a no. Sensei merely smirked in revenge.

"How about you, enjoy your rare alone time with Asuma-sensei?"

It was her turn to blush and deny such a lewd thing. I smirked. She sighed in defeat and then waved us on into the next room. I skipped in and smiled at Gaara. Politely, I saluted him before skipping off to find somewhere to sleep.

Now that sensei mentions it, no we didn't sleep...

After a nice comatose state for the rest of the days at the tower, we were called down to the arena looking place. I spaced out as the old men chatted. I think I faintly remember that silver haired creep say he quit or whatever. After that, Kiba helped me out by dragging me out of there. Curious, I turned to him.

"Preliminaries. Too many of us passed so they have to cut down the number of participants. It's one on one combat. If you lose, your team doesn't get affected." I 'aaah'ed at his short and sweet condensation of that ridiculous explanation. Peeking over the railing, I saw that cocky Uchiha having the snot beaten out of him. I checked the board.

"Go Yoroi guy! Beat that Uchiha to oblivion!" I cackled. Fangirls around the ring snapped,

"Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that!" Holding my sides in pain, I rolled around laughing until I heard a lot of people cheer, the hyper blonde and the pinkette's voices above the rest. I pouted. I had really hoped he would lose...

I was about to space out again when Kiba smacked my arm. I rubbed the sore spot and looked at the board since he was pointing to it.

'Hatake Saya vs. Rokudo Mukuro'

My god, who named this kid!?

I say, they're awesome for making their kid such an awesome name.

Kiba nudged me down the stairs and I found myself being pushed in front of a guy with purple hair in the shape of a pineapple. He had one blue eye and one red eye. Ridiculous hairstyle aside, this guy looks cool! If I wasn't a fangirl of Kiba, and I didn't live in the Sand village, and if I lived in the Mist village, I would try going after this guy.

Unless all the guys from different villages were hot.

Damn you, Leaf Village!

"Are you two ready?" The proctor coughed. I snapped out of my reverie. Oh yeah... We're fighting.

He nodded and charged at me. Stumbling, I dodged lazily to the side. I faintly heard some girl cheer on 'Mukuro-sama.'

My god, even he has fangirls. And he's got a pineapple haircut.

I dodged a swipe from a trident he summoned from a symbol on his wrist. Again and again, I dodged him.

"The hell're ya doin', Saya! Hurry up and kick his ass!" Kiba shouted from above.

Well, it's just... You know... I don't know this guy's abilities. And his eye looks like it's got numbers in it. And the numbers look like they're changing. Sorry for being cautious.

Quickly, he slammed the pointy end of his trident into the ground and made fast handsigns. His chakra fluctuated and my vision blurred.

Genjutsu.

From what I'm seeing, it's obviously high level. I came face to face with Mukuro in a dark chaotic swirl of red, black, and purple. I stood still and shut my eyes. The familiar release sign was formed on my hands. Focusing my chakra, I felt the Genjutsu begin to crack.

"Kufufufu, seems you're not as much of a weakling as I thought. Kufufufu, you can do more than dodge like a mouse from a cat," he teased. My eyes opened to him charging at me.

"Play time is over, sweetie," I grinned. Kiba cheered ridiculously loud as I jumped over Mukuro and twisted in the air so my hands landed on his shoulders. My lightning chakra flooded to my hands as I incapacitated him with my shocking awesomeness.

Alright, bad pun.

"Hatake Saya is the winner!" I cheered half heartedly before I saw Dad peek out from a corner. I waved like a monkey on drugs to him and I saw his mask stretch with a smile. I skipped upstairs, clapped my teammates on the shoulder, and skipped off to find a bed to take a nice nap. I'm still tired, all things considering. As I sat on the bed, I looked up to the ceiling to a pair of giant mismatched eyes, one blue and one red with numbers.

"Kufufufufu, not so special after all."

My heart seemed to stop.

I've been had!

**AN: Couldn't seem to end this any other way. Virtual cookie if you get where I stole Mukuro from. Yes, Mukuro's illusion is that strong that Saya thought she broke it. **

**But notice I wrote "begin to crack."**

**I never said she actually broke it ;) **

**Ahh, book one of the CCC trilogy is almost over! Book two will come out whenever I finish all the other stories I'm writing for myself (or actually work on them.) I know I haven't updated in a while (how long? Lol!) but I haven't been motivated. I got all excited when I reached the preliminary fight for Saya! Woo! Will she lose? Or win? And if she wins, who does she fight in the final? **

**Well, you can't know who she fights in the final unless you watch KHR. I love that show~ **

**And you can't know what happens unless you read my planning. That's some twisted piece of planning right there.**


	22. Chapter 22 Genjutsu Hurts

**Chapter 22: Genjutsu Hurts**

The moment I laid eyes on his, well, eyes... I knew everything I thought was reality a moment ago was a big fat lie.

"Kufufufu, illusions. And even further illusions in illusions. Real objects in illusions, and illusions in real objects. So what is your reality?" His voice echoed around me. I slowly became more and more confused. Since when - the beginning? Or was it the swirl? When I saw his eyes? When I was spaced out and placed in front of him?

I began over-thinking it all - and losing sight of what was literally right in front of me.

What felt like the trident sliced across my abdomen, as his annoying 'kufufufu' echoed everywhere. My god, this arrogant and annoying bastard!

Now that I was snapped out of my reverie caused by my confusion (I know I'm only booksmart), I began focusing on fluctuating my chakra to feel where I am. I closed my eyes, and I felt the arena area around me. Everywhere around me, people were murmuring to each other, asking why I hadn't moved, while Mukuro laughed and sliced at me every now and then.

Was he trying to give me a mental breakdown?!

My scene shifted back to the arena. This genjutsu has just been making me angrier and angrier. I let out a burst of chakra, and I saw cracks appear in the space.

Everything shattered.

My eardrums ringed in pain as I screamed from the blinding light and the pain in my ears.

"My genjutsu, when broken, causes extreme pain to the dispeller. Well, it's your fault for wanting to leave a world in which you win. You'll never win against me," he laughed. I looked up at him and glared. I glared like there was no tomorrow. "Oooh, so scary! The terrifying injured little girl wants to hurt me!" he taunted. His voice sounded awfully faint. Extreme pain? More like deafness. This idiot knows how to make a jutsu, alright.

"Don't give up, Saya!"

Who... Who yelled that out to me? I couldn't tell, it was so faint. I kind of wanted to give up, with the spots that dotted my vision. I squinted, but I could barely see. What's the point of winning, anyway? Chuunin isn't that great. More responsibility and missions. It's so annoying. There's less life for a person to live - but that is indeed what they get for wanting to be a ninja of the Leaf.

Why did I ever choose this path?

It's painful, and people die all the time.

It's a world in which I sometimes wish I had never set foot in, when Mom or Dad give me a sad, distant look.

I know they're afraid. Dad lost his whole team - Obito, Rin, and his sensei. Mom lost everyone.

Mom met Dad when she was trying to hang herself. Mom wasn't a ninja yet when she was sixteen. She came from the village of Hot Springs. They had quit being a Hidden Village, so no one knew the ways of the shinobi.

Maybe if they had, bandits wouldn't have been able to come and go as they pleased, killing off everyone.

Mom's home was raided.

Perhaps that's why she showed such hatred to the ones who took me?

... Where am I?

Oh... That's right.

This pain that I didn't want to feel anymore. It hurt, it hurt!

"SAYA!" Someone screamed. I was so angry.

"Just let me fall asleep," I murmured, the darkness tugging at me so heavily. I wanted to sleep. Sleep and never wake up. It's calm there - no one dies, no one gets hurt, no one cries.

That's because there is no one in nothingness. I faintly felt the blood pouring from my deep gashes. Mukuro laughed obnoxiously, and at this point I didn't care if he was hot or not. Rage filled me.

I'm going to kill him.

No one's going to stop me, because I WILL kill this pineapple son of a whore.

"And the winner is Roku-"

"Call the match right now in his favor, and I will personally butcher you," I growled to the proctor. Mukuro smirked as the proctor backed away to allow the match to continue.

"Now, sweetie, play time is definitely over. You should go home and suck on your mommy's milk before you come out here playing ninja," I growled to him. He only laughed. "You're about to go through a world of pain, Mukuro."

"All I hear is growls, but no swipes, little kitten."

I laughed.

"But you're already stuck in MY genjutsu, fool!" He spun around wildly at my well-called bluff.

"So, where am I?" I summoned clones with my hands behind my back. I crept around in the mass of solid clones and illusions. The rest of the me's walked around in a mass, greeting each other and sharing ways to brutally murder a man with purple pineapple hair. His eyes widened.

"How?!" He cried.

Fool, he fell for it! Hook, line, and sinker!

"Just kidding," he laughed. He placed his hands in the release sign and focused his chakra.

"Fool! That won't work on me!" I giggled, pouncing on him with a kunai. My clones all disappeared in an explosion of smoke, providing cover for me to fight him. He laughed and parried.

Dodge, parry, swipe, clang, parry...

This went on for a while, my kunai versus his mini-trident. Does he only use tridents? What's up with tridents?

He drew blood for me and cackled.

"What, don't tell me that when you drink my blood we form a spiritual link and you're coincidentally immortal so you're going to stab yourself in the heart and kill me!" Everyone went silent and I heard crickets chirping. Mukuro cocked his head in confusion like a puppy. "Oh, so you're not Jashinist? Okay then! Ignore that!"

I jumped away as he licked my blood off of his trident.

"Dude, you just said you're not a Jashinist. PLEASE don't tell me you're either a creep or a vampire! Because I don't see any damn sparkles!" Mukuro shook his head and grinned.

"My ultimate genjutsu. Every illusion I make is not an illusion. It's real. It is reality."

He's bluffing!

Two Mukuros appeared next to the original, and all three of them charged. All of them hit their target (me) who was being held down by vines. The vines were wrapped tightly around me; my legs were immobilized by thick green roots, my midsection layered with nutritious greenery, and my hands held apart by thinner vines. I gritted my teeth, refusing to scream as the Mukuros danced around and cut, and cut, and cut. Blood pooled around me and I felt so faint, so very, very, faint. I wanted to give in - to this darkness... I felt cold. So cold.

"The match goes to-" I glared at the proctor. No. Mukuro smirked and dispelled his doppelgängers.

"NO!" I screamed, interrupting the coughing proctor. "NOT YET!"

I briefly looked up to the rafters and saw Kiba with a crestfallen face. He looked so sad and powerless. The railing seemed to dent under the pressure of him tightly gluing himself to where he was standing. He knew not to interfere. My eyes flew to Gaara. He looked at me indifferently.

He thinks I'm weak.

I'll show them.

_I'll show them all! _

I activated my third chakra nature, fire, and burned away everything.

"Unluckily for you, Mukuro," I spat his name, actually spitting at his feet, "I can channel my chakra throughout my body. I can burn or electrocute anything without using handsigns. I train too much, you see. My hobby is training. That's all I really do."

He looked indifferent, like he could care less.

"Let me give you a handicap. I'm a bloody mess, and I'll tell you my chakra natures are fire, earth, and lightning. Those three I'm the best at. Wind and water, I can do, but it's pretty difficult for me. I guess those can be strengths or weaknesses."

"What are you trying to say?" He asked, bored.

"Like I said, giving you a handicap."

I charged at him, and he didn't even bother to dodge that well. Mukuro sidestepped, and I twisted my foot so I could aim a kick at him. Chakra burst through me, increasing my speed and strength. My kick landed, and he flew across the arena into the wall.

I grinned as he shakily stood, "Like I said: _handicap_." I rushed to him, aiming a punch at his face. He flew to the left about five feet.

"Come on, you're like a rag doll! The only reason I'm still standing is because I'm using sheer willpower. If I wasn't so damn stubborn, I'd be dying right now." I paused. "I probably am!"

I felt his chakra signature, and it was weak. I snickered. "Don't tell me you spend all your chakra in two killer moves!" His lack of response or obnoxious laugh suggested I was right. Well, there was also his lack of consciousness... I sighed and sat down on him.

"So, do I win?" I grinned, poking the knocked out pineapple head.

"This match goes to Hatake Saya!" He announced. I heard Kiba cheer ridiculously loud, along with a: "That was awesome, believe it! Did you see that, Sakura-chan?! Kakashi-sensei's daughter is awesome, believe it!"

I held my hands over my ears. They're so obnoxiously loud! Everything was growing dark.

"Hey, proctor dude." The guy turned to me. "I think I need a medic. Oh, I don't know, really soon?"

_Everything went black as I gave into the darkness..._

**AN: What is this? Two updates in one day? Not to mention this whole chapter is a fight scene? No, don't get your hopes up that I'll update twice in one day until book one is over. I wish I could do that, but my hands are really hurting. The previous chapter is what I wrote over a period of a month. This chapter is the result of me sitting my ass down for half an hour and nonstop pecking at my bluetooth keyboard typing this shit. MY HANDS HURT SO MUCH OH MY GOD!**

**At first I was going to have her win relatively unscathed, but doesn't that happen in all the fanfictions? God, I hate how the main character gets through the rest of the battles by nearly dying, and then the prelims they're just like, "Oh hai I'm actually really strong LMFAO trolled!" **

**So. Saya just nearly dies in nearly all the fights she gets into. Hmmm...**


	23. Chapter 23 Sometimes

**Chapter 23: Sometimes**

**Warning: some Kiba OOC-ness... **

When I next awoke, I found myself wrapped almost head to toe with bandages. I sat up (painfully, I must add), and looked around at the (damn) hospital. Kiba was snoring alongside Akamaru across the room. I blushed.

They didn't put me by myself?! Come on, what changed? I was always put by myself! Not to mention, they put me in the same room as Kiba! Why would they -

Wait. Why is Kiba hurt?

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and tip-toed to his side. Akamaru was curled up beside Kiba's head. I couldn't help but blush at the sight of that cuteness! I slowly and quietly peeled back the white sheet to examine his injuries. When I looked at him, I noticed he was shirtless and wrapped in bandages here and there. My hands found themselves making the somewhat familiar healing signs and I ran my hands over the bandages. He wasn't injured too badly. I giggled as he snored. I erased any evidence of my peeking and tiptoed back to my bed. I felt something wet along my stomach and found red soaking through the bandages. I sighed and opened the door and called out, "Nurse! Or someone who can re-bandage me!"

Kiba sat up, startled. Akamaru whined as he was obnoxiously awoken to Kiba's flailing while I leaned on the doorway, amused.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," I teased. He looked at me with the saddest face I had ever seen on him. "What? I know I reopened my wound, Mutt, but I'm up and alive, aren't I?" I asked.

In reply, he only stood up and wrapped his arms tightly around me and placed his head on my shoulder. His fingers dug tightly into the thin shirt I wore over my bandages.

"I was scared," he whispered. "There was so much blood around you, and when you passed out, I-" he breathed in sharply and I could feel tears soaking through my shirt. "I'm so happy you're okay."

My face flamed red in an instant and I felt dizzy. Kiba! Kiba, Kiba, Kiba!

"Kiba, I'm fine. I'm kind of bleeding right now, though, so..." He quickly released me and noticed my dripping wounds. He gasped and forced me to sit down. Kiba flew out of the room screaming for a medic. He quickly returned with some man who looked utterly confused. I waved at him and said medic gasped. He whisked me off to re-bandage me. Some medical ninjutsu was used to close the wound again. The medic scolded me for being up and about, and I was taken back to the room and dropped in the bed. As soon as the medic was gone, Kiba was at my side, with his hand on my forehead.

"I don't have a fever, Kiba. I only nearly bled to death. I'm fine!" I exclaimed. He blushed and drew up a chair by my bed as I sat up on the white sheets. He took my hand and my face flamed up different shades of red. I attempted to take my hand away, but he only held tighter. I looked at him and saw I had just created eye contact. I couldn't bring myself to turn away.

"Saya. Don't ever do that again," he choked out. "I was so scared..." I patted him on the head, feeling very nervous and awkward.

"S'ok Mutt. I'm alive. It's all that matters." He nodded once, breaking eye contact to my relief.

"You passed. You get to go onto the third exam." He looked rather glum as he said this. I blinked in confusion.

"You didn't win?" I asked. He sighed and shook his head. Kiba leaned back in his chair and locked eyes with me again. I felt as if I could barely breathe.

"I underestimated that Naruto brat. He won using dirty tricks," he grimaced. I burst into laughter.

"Hehe, Naruto is on my dad's team. S'what ya get for underestimating him! Hehe.." He looked away awkwardly as I laughed at him. Eventually I did stop laughing and we ended up just staring at each other.

"So, when's the third exam?" I tried to break the ice.

"Don't know. I was knocked out." I grinned and patted his head softly.

"Nice to know. Thanks for your help!" He rolled his eyes at me.

For three days I was stuck in that room. What made it better was that Kiba was with me all the while. When I was finally released, Kiba and I decided to run off to Ichiraku to celebrate leaving behind the hospital food. To be honest, hospital food is pretty good, but after three days I was craving something unhealthy.

We ordered our ramen and quickly ate it before running back outside.

"Kiba, you never did tell me what happened on New Years." I murmured. He blushed darkly before pulling me into an alley.

"Do you really want to know?" He asked, his face close to mine. I nodded, not trusting my voice. He pushed me against the wall and asked again if I really did want to know.

"Yes, I want to know. Tell me, mutt!" I demanded softly. He sighed and relayed the events that happened.

**((Not bothering to actually type it out. You guys know what happened. Remember? Chapter 18))**

"Wait, why don't I remember anything?" I questioned. He smiled sheepishly.

"You passed out because I drugged you with that kiss." He said proudly. I sighed.

"I'm surprised you didn't molest me, you horny dog." I joked. He frowned.

"I'm not -" he sighed. "You're mine now, you know." My face flamed red. What?! "I mean, I'm not letting you like other guys. You're mine."

"You think you can restrict my freedom?" I asked.

He grinned. "You kissed back." I looked away awkwardly. Well, it seems like something I would do..

"I'm not restricting your freedom. I'm telling you, you're now my girlfriend. You can't say anything about this, because you kissed back. As a result, you're mine." I sighed at his logic. I was about to speak before I found his lips on mine.

Alrighty, fine. Nice. Awesome. I don't know.

He released me and grinned.

"Alright, fine mutt. I'll be your girlfriend." Wait. Wait.. What am I saying? What about my mask? My mind panicked as my heart stayed true on its destructive course. "I've actually liked you since way before we became Genin." No. No. Please just let this be a dream.

"I began noticing you only after you blocked that killing blow for me," he muttered, embarrassed. An awkward silence ensued.

"Do you... Um... Want to do something tomorrow? I mean, like, um..." He stuttered nervously. I grinned.

"Sure."

We parted ways a little after, a little embarrassed and dazed. I ran into Iruka on the way home, and he told me I was to fight Chrome Dokuro, Rokudo Mukuro's teammate in a month.

As I was skipping home, golden eyes met mine. Darkness flew across my vision as I heard the hiss of a _snake_.

**AN: I... I don't know. I'm sorry. I ... Ugh. I know where this is going but I have extreme lack of motivation. I see you people putting me on favorites and follow but I really don't know if you like my story or not. I really am not proud of this chapter. I'm really not. Book one (there will be three) is ending soon. I'll... I don't know.. **

**I feel like this is turning into a Sue fic. I really don't know anymore. It's THAT phase of writing where you realize - this is complete crap. **

**Well... I thought that from the beginning. I lack confidence in myself. But I will finish book one no matter what. Unless I die. Which ... Well I can't say I doubt that because right now the ceiling could fall in. Or I could pass out and unconsciously smother myself with a pillow. Whatever. You get it. **


	24. Chapter 24 The Way the Dice Rolls

**Chapter 24: The Way the Dice Rolls...**

**Warning: Descriptive experimentation. Probable foul language. You have been warned. **

When I woke up, I was strapped to a table; cold metal bit into my back. I was gagged - and I felt bile rise to my throat from the terrible taste of the cloth. I attempted to look around as much as I could with my head locked in place by metal. The room was crowded with liquids and syringes. I felt the blood leave my face when I spotted an eye floating in a beaker of strange green fluid.

The eye was red with three commas around the pupil. It was a sharingan. I felt sick.

"Lord Orochimaru, the subject has awakened," I heard a young man say.

Orochimaru?! The rogue Sannin?! I'm going to die. I'm going to die.

Fear engulfed me and I chattered. The room seemed to be ten degrees colder.

Two figures emerged from the darkness. One was a silver haired youth with round glasses - and the other...

Orochimaru. I cursed him and my luck.

"Aaah, how interesting. She looks like the Copy Cat ninja," the pedophile of a snake man hissed.

"Lord Orochimaru, I did some digging and found she is his daughter." The young man said. What did they plan to do to me?!

"Interesting. A copy kitten will soon be born then. Maybe in a little while, I could have her body while I wait for Sasuke," he laughed in delight at the idea. "Yes, that sounds appealing." If I felt fear before, it was nothing like the thought of a 'scientist' having his way with me.

The silver haired youth handed a shiny hook to Orochimaru, and the pain began when he shoved that thing into my left eye.

I faintly remember attempting to shriek.

My eye went dark, and with horrible disgust I saw it lifted from it's socket. The youth took the eye and dropped it casually in a container with green liquid. He labeled it something I couldn't see.

Orochimaru received a syringe filled with a white liquid. His mouth stretched into a maniacal grin as he stabbed the needle into my arm. He pressed the liquid into my arm, and when it was gone, I escaped from the pain by passing out.

"Lord Orochimaru, could I be so bold to ask a question?"

"What is it, Kabuto?"

"I thought you wanted the sharingan. Why implant it into a girl? She looks no more than fourteen. I also doubt she'd survive the DNA shot,"

"I want a body accustomed to using the sharingan. I can break anyone and have them serve me. Also, I only managed to get my hands on one: Uchiha Fugaku's,"

"Lord Orochimaru, you believe Uchiha Sasuke will come to you?"

"Yes. He is an avenger. He will do anything to kill Itachi, and so he will come to me for power."

"I see."

"Kabuto, go prepare her cell. I don't doubt she'll wake up soon."

"At once, Lord Orochimaru."

When I awoke, I was unbound, yet still I laid on the table. I tried to sit up, but I only felt pain. I muffled my scream and laid back down.

Kabuto re-entered the room. I remember the conversation I overheard. I cowered, but he took my arm and dragged me off the table. I fell to the ground on my knees, and he roughly pulled me up and had me take quick steps. His grip was tight, and I still couldn't see from my left eye. Slowly, I lifted my hand and touched my eye socket. Empty. They didn't even put a bandage.

I was taken through long winding hallways. Quickly, I became disoriented. We passed by different rooms, and soon enough I was thrown into an open cell. It was quickly shut and locked.

As the pain came in waves and waves, I couldn't help hoping one day, karma would bitch slap Orochimaru. Hard.

And make him cry like a little whore.


	25. Chapter 25 Counting Sheep

**Chapter 25. Counting Sheep**

For the next few days, I was injected with many things. Once, I was locked in a tank full of water.

I nearly drowned until I realized water seemed to be my second home. Soon enough, I had an air bubble and I was freezing water like it was nothing.

Back then, I was terribly confused. After all, weren't my chakra natures fire, lightning, and earth? Major natures fire and lightning, minor nature earth. Chakra natures are engraved in the DNA! One couldn't magically change chakra natures. I know now that the first shot they gave me was 'the' DNA shot. The ones afterward were to stabilize me and the soon to come mutations. The pain subsided eventually, and I could feel I didn't have as much control over myself as I once had. Sad.

I once overheard Orochimaru and Kabuto chat as they walked along to my cell for another day of testing. Or it could've all been the same day, really. I had no sense of time in this place. I didn't have a window to see whether it was day or night. They only gave me food once in a while - a soft loaf of bread and a pitcher of water.

I needed a shower really badly too. I was covered in dirt and grime, and - disgusting as this is - they didn't give me any toilet paper for when I did my business in the bucket they gave me. Gross. Utterly, completely gross. I'm getting off topic here.

"Lord Orochimaru, the DNA shot... Which clan was it?"

"You ask so much, Kabuto. Didn't you read the vial?"

"I didn't have the chance, my Lord. You used and discarded it too quickly for me to read it."

"Ah, yes. I think it's time she knew as well. I believe she can hear our conversation. This hallway has a tendency to echo."

At that point, I cowered in my corner. I seemed to have forgotten he was an S-ranked rogue who could easily kill me. I was too engulfed in my fantasies of disobedience and putting his ugly face in his place that I forgot I couldn't possibly have the power to do such a thing.

"The Yuki clan," he started. "Was a prestigious clan famous for their ability of ice release." The room seemed ten degrees colder. He's not saying what I think he is saying... right? Oh what the hell, with my luck, yes. It is. "With the DNA shot, I managed to change her chakra natures to be able to suit the ice style Kekkei Genkai. Her lightning nature seems heavily engraved in her DNA, but fire and earth were easily replaced with water and wind." What? Wouldn't my ENTIRE fighting style have to change? Water style combined with wind is much more fluid then my powerful, burning jabs with earth and fire. I'd have to retrain from the ground up!

Back to square one, young academy student.

"Once she trains enough, she could perform both Storm style and Ice style. It confused me for a while she had three chakra natures. Normally, one has a nature for each hand, but she has three - and she could easily use lightning in both hands. How could this be? Well, I found by examining her DNA that lightning was rather dominant. No matter what I did to my sample strand, I could not get rid of the lightning style without changing the entire genetic makeup. When I thought about this, I could only assume on both sides of her family, there were many lightning style users. Her ability to use earth style was a small but helpful mutation when she was doing mitosis from her single cell in her mother's womb." Orochimaru had gone off excitedly on a rant about my genetic sequence, and I found myself rather curious what else he knew. Once you got past the psychotic scientist part of him, was rather intelligent and one could learn a whole lot from him.

I still wanted to escape though. Sorry, intriguing man. You literally used a hook to lift out my eyeball, put me through much more pain I had ever experienced in my lifetime put together within FIVE MINUTES (out of the how many hours I was trapped in here?), and you forcibly changed my chakra natures so I would have to spend many weeks and sleepless nights retraining myself.

Yeah. I had to get out of there.

"And here were are. Hello again, Saya." He hissed as he stopped in front of my cell. I glared at him, knowing I couldn't do anything else. "Today. we're doing something... Special."

Kabuto entered my cell and grabbed my thin, malnourished frame and dragged me along to the familiar experimentation room. The floating sharingan in a jar was close to the table this time, and I felt sick. I missed Kiba. At this rate, I doubted I'd ever be able to come home. This year was rather strange, now that I reflected on it.

I got stuck on Team Kurenai, with an amazing sensei, an uptight bug-boy obsessed with rules, and my long running (not as hopeless as I thought) crush. I fell further in my hopeless crush, we tumbled through many missions together, and we joined the Chuunin Exams. Kiba proclaimed me as his girlfriend, and I sadly admitted to myself that many things can happen in a year. I doubted I would participate in the third exam. I was thrown onto the table and strapped down, and I knew if I ever resisted I would be tortured. I remembered now Kabuto was the silver haired creep from the Exams. I closed my eye.

I did nothing but sit in my room all day, and I remembered something that concerned me.

"Saki sends her regards," the assassin said before I killed him. What would she have anything to do with the Chronos Numbers? My reverie was broken from a chuckle by Orochimaru.

"Not today, Saya. Today you can't close your eyes," he said. My eyes snapped open in fear. Trembling, my eyes flicked over to him and his damn purple eyeshadow. The jar was unscrewed. "I'm impressed you lived through the shot. Normally I'd feel compelled to give you my gift, but I don't think you have the health to live through that. The shot was enough."

When I was finally returned to my room, I collapsed onto the pile of hay that served as my bed. I counted sheep that ran into fences until I fell asleep.

My new eye was strange to adjust to, as I now saw things slower. It hurt like hell though.

God I wished I had my perverted orange book to pass the time.

**AN: I have a poll up on my profile now on what I should write next. Please vote, as the end of Book One is looming close. It's a blind vote, so you can't see the results until I close the poll. It'll be closed sometime June, perhaps the end of June. :) **

**Review and guess what happens next! The person who guesses close enough gets a one shot of their choice and bragging rights. **

**I should really do my homework...**


	26. Chapter 26 Looking Up

**Chapter 26: Looking Up **

I usually sat in my cell. Now I was informed of the passing days. It's been apparently two weeks since my kidnapping. You know what, I'm sick of it. Because of my awesome obedience, my cell was left unlocked. I made myself a mental map. Today, Kabuto allowed me to take a walk with a weak guard. He only needed to get me close to where I was pretty sure the exit hid waiting for me. I mulled over my plan a little more. There were quite a few holes but I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.

My fingers lightly touched the bandages over my eye. I was now used to having only one eye to see where I am. It threw off my depth perception for a bit, but I quickly learned.

The guard and I neared the exit. As we turned past that hallway, I managed to get the guard in a hold and knock him out by locking my arm around his neck. After about ten seconds on pressing the arteries on his neck, he passed out limply. I sat him up against the wall, patted his head, and limped to the exit.

Hell, if I was to stay in this hole any longer, I would go insane. When I pushed through the door, the entrance hidden by a Genjutsu opened to me. I rushed outside and nearly cried at the sight of sunlight and the scent of fresh air.

I'm pretty sure I smelled of blood, urine, sweat, and dungeon. No matter. I looked for any indication as to where I was, but found none. For now, I'd have to hide until night fell so I could use the stars. My eyelids fell tiredly over my eyes. Not yet, I told myself. I couldn't allow myself to fall asleep just yet. I dragged myself deep into the forest to the right of me. After ten minutes of walking, I collapsed in a bush. When I looked up, there was a small crevice I could fit into. When I slipped in, I found it was huge on the inside.

Well, my luck has begun to improve, hasn't it?

**? PoV**

I could sense someone in the hiding spot I made years ago. I turned to my partner.

"I have things to take care of. I'll meet you at the dango stand," I told him. He nodded, and we parted ways at the fork in the road. As I walked down the path, I quickly found my hunting path I used to find where I stored my weapons. The Base wasn't too safe, with the constant yelling and arguing. They're criminals, for Jashin's sake. When will they grow up?

When I found the small crevice I just barely managed to slip into, I found a girl no older than thirteen. Her hair was short and silver but covered in dirt and grime. She didn't smell too nice, and she looked malnourished. She sat near the entrance of my hole in the ground, as if she knew if she ventured deeper she would anger someone. I looked over her thin tattered clothes and could find no identification. When I looked at her, I felt she was familiar and I knew her from somewhere. I sighed.

I was definitely too nice for my own good.

I went off to hunt for food. When I returned, the sun was setting and the girl was just opening her onyx eye. She looked a lot like -

No, she couldn't possibly be...?

When she saw me, she didn't react at first. Then, she whispered my name and tried to curl into a small ball - a defensive instinct when one couldn't fight. I sighed again and started a small fire and cooked the deer I caught. She watched me carefully, calculating.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I told her. She shook her head before answering.

"You're Uchiha Itachi. You murdered your clan. Excuse me for being cautious." I nearly smirked at her attitude.

"You know my name, but I don't know yours," I said. She hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Hatake Saya." I looked at her, confused.

"Kakashi's daughter?" She nodded in answer. "What are you doing so far from Konoha in that state? Mission gone wrong?" She shivered at my question and tightened her ball-like state.

"Orochimaru," she answered. That one name was filled with so much anger and hate. I was instantly reminded of Sasuke.

"Will you get revenge?" I asked. She laughed bitterly.

"I'm not stupid. How am I supposed to get strong enough to tear out a Sannin's throat? He changed my chakra natures. I'll have to retrain from the ground up. It'll take a bit to get me back to where I was, and I now have this," she spoke quickly. Her fingers ghosted the bandage over her eye.

"What did he do?" The words were quickly out of my mouth before I even thought about them.

She looked up at me, an idea dawning on her. "I'll tell you... On a condition." I gestured for her to go on. "Train me." She demanded. I sighed and thought about it. It'd be hard for her to live in Konoha and train with me, so I'd have to meet her when I wasn't with Kisame. I couldn't sneak into Konoha all the time. However, if I didn't train her, who knew what she would do to herself? As plans formed in my head, I nodded. She grinned. Saya undid the bandages and I found a sharingan peeking out from her hair parting. She stuck her tongue out.

"Now I'm a copy of my dad."

Anger filled me. Where the hell did that snake bastard get one? I'm pretty sure my anger showed on my face, as her eyes became calculating. I sighed. Now I definitely had to train her.

And that was how I, Uchiha Itachi, met Hatake Saya.


	27. Chapter 27 Slowly Shattering

**Chapter 27: Slowly Shattering**

**Kiba PoV**

When I had heard two weeks ago Saya had gone missing, I was furious. I thought she had ran away. When she finally came back, I wanted to lecture her. I was told she was in the hospital, and I felt a little better. She got hurt running away.

I don't know what I expected to see when I burst into that room. I definitely would not have foreseen her small skeletal frame. The one eye I could see didn't have that rebellious spark I loved. There was only a small glimmer of that familiar roaring fire that remained.

I instantly deflated. All my anger washed away. She aimed an eye at me and smiled weakly. Her fingers played at the edge of the bandage covering her other eye.

"Hey," I whispered.

"Hey to you, Mutt," she grinned. "I escaped from that psychopathic snake man!" She raised her voice a little in triumph.

"Snake man?" I questioned. Her eye narrowed.

"Orochimaru," she hissed. I could feel the hate radiating off of her.

"What did he do?" I asked softly. She smiled faintly and shook her head. I was about to ask again when she leaned in and kissed me softly and quickly.

"No more questions today. I'm tired," she said. Her eye slowly shut and she leaned back in the white bed. With her silver hair splayed out like that, I couldn't help but compare her to an injured angel. I didn't care what anyone thought. I kissed her gently on the forehead before laying my head down on the side of the bed and falling asleep to her steady breathing.

When I next awoke, I was alone in the room. The window drapes fluttered from the opened window. A note was on the table, held in place by the flower vase someone else must've brought in. A little panic overtook me. Where was Saya? I made my way to the vase and I felt my heart shatter.

_Kiba -_

_Sorry this was sudden. I had to get a full diagnostic of what exactly was wrong with me. Most of it was patched up, and my malnutrition will be fixed soon enough. I didn't plan on staying more than two days, but seeing you made me want to leave faster... I can't exactly participate in the Chuunin Exams in my state. I have a friend. He will help me train until I feel I can return. Yes. I'm leaving Konoha. I'll be back though. _

_Konoha doesn't need useless baggage like me anyway. What do people do with useless baggage?_

_They cast it off. _

_- S.H. _

Numbly, I picked up the note and walked out of the room. I felt as if I were on autopilot as I knocked on the Hokage's door and entered. The old man smoking his pipe looked at me as I stood before him.

"Why are you crying, child?" He asked me. I lifted my free hand to my face.

Apparently, the kibalicious Kiba was, indeed, crying. I sniffed and handed him the note Saya left me. Just when I thought I could finally have someone who loved me unconditionally, she leaves.

He read it over quickly.

"Would you like to search for her?" He asked gently. My eyes flew up sharply. Could I? I know I'd never find her, but at least I'd have tried. I nodded. The Hokage grinned at me and waved me off. I nearly tripped over my feet to get Akamaru. We sped off out of the gates, sniffing for any sign of the girl who made me lose my balance. She, who made me fall so hopelessly in love. She, who sported what she thought was an unrequited crush for so long. She, who just took my heart and shattered it as if it were glass.

We were young, maybe. But age is but a number when it comes to love... If you truly from the bottom of your heart love someone... I didn't want to finish that thought. I looked up at the setting sun.

"I'll find you," I whispered. "I'll find you!" I repeated in a shout. Crows flew off from their perch. I turned around and saw a man at the edge of the woods. He had long black hair and a black cloak with red clouds. A traveling hat veiled his face from me.

"You won't find her," he said softly.

"Why not?!" I impulsively shouted.

"She doesn't want to be found," he answered simply. He lifted his head and I saw his sharingan eyes. My blood seemed to freeze. Uchiha Itachi.

He disappeared in a sudden whirlwind of crows.

"I'll find you," I said with finality. "I'll find you. Because I love you."

**AN: there it is. The end of Book One: A Copy Cat's Child. Over and done at 27 chapters. 27, divisible by three and nine for those of you doing your math homework and reading this. Do one or the other, sweet angel face. **

**Please, please, PLEASE vote on my poll. I will begin writing the sequel soon, but I'll upload it maybe September-ish. I want a head start. Don't think that if you don't vote for a sequel I won't write it. I'll just write it faster - and revert back to updating once a month. **

**The other stories would be a summer project for me. So PLEASE vote so that I can write something new other than Naruto. Thank you. **

**Also, please review. I KNOW who's following me. I KNOW who favorites me. I know who you all are. Don't think I don't know if you don't review. I know. **


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